Journal of the New York Botanical Garden

JOURNAL
OF
THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN
VOL. 47
No. 563
NOVEMBER
1 9 4 6
PAGES
261— 284
JOURNAL OF THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN
CAROL H. WOODWARD, Editor
EVENTS— LATE NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER 1946
History of Paper- Making
An exhibit covering several thousand years of paper- making, arranged by Harrison
Eiliott, the speaker on the Garden's Saturday afternoon program of Nov. 16, will be
on view on the main floor of the Museum Building until mid- December. Samples of
the earliest paper made in the pioneering countries of Asia, Europe, and North America
are shown, with informative labels explaining the process of manufacture by hand and
by machine. Hand- made papers produced by Mr. Elliott himself are included in the
exhibit, also some rare books printed on paper made from different kinds of pulp.
Conservatory Displays
Chrysanthemums and other late autumn- flowering plants, in addition to the permanent
exhibits. Open daily, 10 a. m. to 4 p. m.
Members' Day Program
Dec. 4— Report of the Garden's First Expedition to Africa
The Vernay Nyasaland Expedition L. J. Brass
Radio Programs
Alternate Wednesdays at 5: 45 p. m. over WNYC ( 830 on the dial).
Nov. 27— Amino Acids— And You F. W. Kavanagh
Assistant Curator
Dec. 11— Farm and Garden Crops of Colonial America Anne Dorrance
Author of " Green Cargoes'' and other books
Dec. 25— After- Christmas Care of Christmas Plants Montague Free
Staff Horticulturist, Home Garden Magazine
Saturday Afternoon Programs
3 p. m. in the lecture hall.
Nov. 23— Air Plants and How They Grow E. E. Naylor
Assistant Curator
Nov. 30— The Romance of the Hudson Mrs. Gordon ~ Wightman
Hudson River Conservation Society
Dec. 7— Careers for Cellulose
A motion picture in sound and color, with comment by W. D. Turner,
Technical Consultant on Plastics.
Programs to be resumed after the holidays.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
November 1946
FROM GARDEN AND FARM— STILL LIFE COMPOSITION BY ELMER N. MITCHELL
Cover photograph
FOODS FROM FERMENTED SOYBEANS . As PREPARED IN THE NETHERLANDS INDIES
I— TAOHOO, A CHEESE- LIKE SUBSTANCE, AND SOME OTHER
PRODUCTS GeroM Stahel 261
ROBERT ALMER HARPER A. B. Stout 267
WOOD DISPLAYED IN LIBRARY HAS FLUORESCENT PROPERTIES 269
PICTURE PAMPHLET OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 271
FASTIGIATE OAK REPRODUCED FROM SEED J. G. Esson 275
THE BESSA PAINTINGS - - - - 276
THREE- DAY SHOW AND PROCRAM STAGED WITH EASTERN STATES
CHRYSANTHEMUM SOCIETY 278
" THE GIFT OF GREEN" 279
NOTES, NEWS, AND COMMENT 279
NOTICES AND REVIEWS OF RECENT BOOKS 281
The Journal is published monthly by The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx Park, New York 58,
N. Y. Printed in U. S. A. Entered as Second Class Matter, January 28, 1936, at the Post Office
at New York, N. Y., under the Act of August 24, 1912. Annual subscription $ 1.50. Single copies
15 cents. - - —
2' 4, 1912. Annual subscription $ 1.50. Single cc
JOURNAL
of-
THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN
VOL. 47 NOVEMBER 1946 No. 563
Foods from Fermented Soybeans . . .
QAS ^ Prepared in the { Netherlands Indies
I— Taohoo, A Cheese- Like Substance, and Some Other Products
By Ceroid Stahel
Director, Agricultural Experiment Station,
Paramaribo, Surinam
IN East Asia— and here in Surinam too— soybeans are planted for seed
production alone, chiefly for human consumption, in contrast to the
diverse uses made of the crop in North America, where much of it is fed
as hay to cattle and a large proportion also goes into plastics and other
products. Relatively few soybeans are eaten in the United States. Despite
intensive advertising campaigns, western peoples seem to prefer to convert
their soybeans into meat and cow's milk. This may be a less economical
way to use them, but to them these products are more palatable.
Eastern peoples have developed other means for overcoming the rather
bitter taste of soybeans and their failure to cook soft. They have learned
to ferment the soybeans with quick- growing fungi, thus making several
palatable and wholesome foods.
Most important of these foods are TAOHOO and TEMPE; also TAOKOAN,
a cheese made from taohoo; TAOTJO, a fermented paste- like condiment, and
KETJAP, which is soy sauce. Soybean milk is also made, but without a
fungus, and sprouted soybeans are widely used by orientals.
Sprouts and Milk from Soybeans
In the Netherlands East Indies sprouted soybeans are called TOKOLAN
or TAOGE. They are one of the ingredients of every " rijst- tafel" ( rice
table, or combination of rice dishes) and therefore are never lacking in the
" passar" ( market). Even in our Paramaribo market, tokolan is displayed
for sale every day.*
* Directions for the sprouting of soybeans were published in this Journal for
November, 1943.
261
262
To make soy milk, beans of the yellow variety are soaked in water and
ground in a mill. The product is diluted with water and filtered through
cheesecloth. The milk obtained in this way has about the same properties
and nearly the same composition and proteins as cow's milk. In China
it is used in the same manner as cow's milk. In the United States too
soy milk is consumed, though on a very limited scale. In the Netherlands
East Indies this milk is only slightly known as food, but it is produced in
large quantities for the manufacturing of soy cheese, called TAOHOO or
TAHOO.
Cheese- Like Products
Just as in making cheese with common milk, a kind of starter is added
to the warm soy milk, which immediately begins to coagulate. Most of this
curd, or taohoo, is either eaten fresh or baked in oil or lard. In China it
is sometimes processed further into a kind of real cheese by impregnating
the curd with turmeric and reducing the water content by heavier pressing.
This cheese, called TAOKOAN, has a yellow color and can be shipped abroad.
TEMPE is a typical product of the Netherlands East Indies and is un­known
in China and elsewhere. To make tempe, soybeans are molded by
the very quick- growing fungus, Rhizopus Oryzae, which grows at its best
only at the permanently high temperatures of the tropics. For this reason
the manufacture of tempe is restricted to tropical countries. Here in
Surinam, as in the East Indies, most of the soybeans are consumed in this
form. In this Journal I propose to give an account of the preparation
of taohoo, and in the next one, of tempe.
How Taohoo Is Made
After tempe, taohoo is the most common form of soybean product eaten
in the Netherlands East Indies. In China, it is the most important soy
product. Taohoo is manufactured here in Surinam only on a very limited
scale, by a single Chinese store- keeper close to the Paramaribo market- halls
along the Surinam River. Twice daily, between 2 and 4 o'clock in the
morning and again in the afternoon, he manufactures 11J4 kilograms of
taohoo, to be sold after 6 o'clock the next morning. We visited this
Chinese kitchen in February in the early morning and again in the after­noon
to see the whole procedure.
At about 8 o'clock in the morning and evening 5.8 kilograms of soybeans
are put into a pail containing about 4J- 2 times this amount of water. As in
East Asia, the yellow variety is used for this purpose. The black one is
just as suitable, but has to be peeled very carefully before milling, other­wise
the curd turns a dark color. For this reason the yellow soya fetches
higher prices here than the black one.
In water the beans swell considerably and after six hours they have a
volume two and one half times that of the dry beans. The actual manufac­ture
of taohoo then begins.
263
CHINESE KITCHEN EQUIPPED WITH. IMPLEMENTS FOR
TAOHOO MANUFACTURE
In the drain of the lower millstone, the white soybean mash can be seen flowing slowly
into the bag of cheesecloth hanging in the wooden barrel. At the left, a part of the
square plan\, and on the wall, parts of two frames for use in making taohoo, are
discernible. Also on the left stands a large earthenware pot filled with brine td be
used for coagulation of the curd.
The thoroughly soaked beans, whose water content is now 63.3%
instead of 15.9% as in the dry beans, are milled in a small stone- mill with
two stones of 50 centimeters diameter. The upper stone rotates, whereas
the lower is fixed and possesses an all- round drain. This mill comes
from Hongkong, from where others have been sent all over the world,
wherever Chinese people live. The upper stone is turned by a man with
the aid of a long wooden lever. Every time that a ladle with wet soybeans
and water is brought into the hole in the upper stone, rotation has to be
stopped.
The thick fluid in the mill streams slowly through the drain into a bag
of cheesecloth which hangs in a wooden barrel. A sample of this fluid
proved to contain 84.6% water. This means that to every kilogram of
beans of 15.9% water content 4.6 liters of water have to be added to
obtain a sufficiently fluid milling product. To the 5.8 kilograms of soy-
264
Condiments Made with Aspergillus
TAOTJO and KETJAP are soy products fermented by another fungus,
Aspergillus Oryzae. The first is eaten as a kind of paste, the second is
used in a fluid form, and is familiar throughout much of the world under
the simple name of soy sauce.
To make TAOTJO, boiled soybeans are mixed with roasted meal of wheat
or glutinous rice. This mass is wrapped in hibiscus leaves, which commonly
harbor the Aspergillus fungus. After two or three days the moldy mass
is brought into brine and kept for several weeks. Palm sugar is added at
intervals. Taotjo must be made in the dry season, because every day it
has to be brought outside into sun and air for hours. This dish is eaten
in the East with the " rijst- tafel." In Surinam it is not manufactured at all.
KETJAP, the well known soy sauce, is made all over East Asia and even
here in Surinam. - To manufacture ketjap the soybeans are boiled and
after cooling are wrapped in hibiscus leaves, just as with taotjo, but without
mixing in the roasted meal. After fermenting for two or three days the
mass is brought into brine, as with taotjo. Every day for one to several
months it is exposed to the sun At intervals a little palm sugar is added.
Then the fluid is filtered and the residue cooked several times with fresh
water to extract all the soluble parts. The fluid is then concentrated by
slow boiling. Spices and other piquant materials are added, according to
the speciality de la maison. These may include gaiangal, ginger, cloves,
Jew's ear fungus, and dried and ground fish and chicken meat.
beans our Chinese therefore has to add as much as 26^ 2 liters of water.
During the milling of the beans, water is boiled in a 50 liter pan. When
milling is finished, the barrel is brought close to the pan. Then the hot
water is ladled in the bag with bean residue, which is being moved con­stantly
by pulling and stretching it to hasten filtration. After the pan is
emptied and filtration slackens, the bag is placed on a grate above the
barrel, the free part being twisted and closed tightly in this way. The bag
is then pressed firmly to separate the milk as completely as possible from
the residue.
There are now about 75 ljters of milk in the barrel. Fifty liters are
ladled back into the pan and 25 go in a pail placed next to the pan on the
hearth. When the temperature of the milk reaches the boiling point, it is
brought back to the barrel and successively the 25 liters of milk in the pail
are poured into the pan to be heated. At least 45 liters of water of about
28° C are added now to the hot milk in the barrel. By now the 120 liters
of milk may have a temperature of 65- 70° C.
Then the starter, consisting of one liter of a 12% solution of salt and 15
cubic centimeters of 80% acetic acid, is added to the fluid, which is con­stantly
stirred with a rod.
Almost immediately the white color changes into a greyish one and flocks
of curd appear floating in the fluid. When the curd begins to settle a hand-
265
basket with fine meshes is held in the whey and the clear fluid which
filters into it, is ladled into pails and thrown away. When most of the
whey is removed in this way, the watery curd is transferred to a cheesecloth
lying crosswise over a loose wooden frame of 2 feet square and 12 centi­meters
high and placed on a square plank. Now on all sides the fluid drips
away and our Chinese tries to hasten the filtration by drawing the corners
of the cloth subsequently back over the cheese. Then the four corners
of the cloth are placed over the curd and a plank just fitting in the frame
is put on the curd and loaded with a pail containing 30 liters of water. To
prevent the sticking of the plank to the cheesecloth a frame of very thin
wooden laths is placed between them. When after ten minutes no further
fluid drips out, the plank is removed again and the corners of the cheese­cloth
are carefully drawn, so that all the wrinkles disappear. Now plank
and pail are replaced and remain on the curd for several hours.
The cheese is now about one inch high, and contains 84) 4 % water. It
is cut into 100 pieces, each 6 centimeters square. Those made in the early
morning are sold after 6 o'clock in the morning as white soft curd. At
the same time those of the afternoon of the previous day are sold as cakes,
baked during the night in lard.
Pieces of fresh taohoo, four- fifths natural size.
266
Freshly ba^ ed taohoo, four- fifths natural size.
There are two kinds of waste products in the manufacture of taohoo, one
the filter- residue and the other the whey. The first product may be fed
to pigs as a concentrate; the second is useless and is thrown away.
In China, 50 grams of calcinated plaster of Paris is used to start the
coagulation of the same quantity of soy milk. The whey from this may
be used in agriculture as a thin liquid manure, whereas whey containing salt
will be harmful for this purpose in the long run.
The table below shows the output of the different products resulting
from the processing of 5.8 kilograms of soybeans into taohoo.
5.8 kg. soybeans
Water content Dry Matter
% kg. %
15.9 4.84 —
Protein ,
kg. %
1.9 —
Fat
kg. %
0.8 —
11.4 kg. taohoo
120 1. whey
10.2 kg. filter- residue
84.6
99.13
81.5
1.76
1.04
1.89
37.5
22.2
40.3
1.1
0.3
0.6
55
15
30
0.6
0.02
0.2
75
4.69 100 2.0 Oi 100
More than half of the protein and J4 of the fat present in soybeans go
into the taohoo, whereas about 1/ 3 of the protein and % of the fat are
267
found in the press- residue. The whey contains only 1/ 7 of the protein and
almost no ' fat at all. In the whey are found most of the soluble carbo­hydrates,
such as galactan, pentosans, and others.
Taohoo is occasionally manufactured in the United States for the
Chinese restaurant trade.
A list of references to the literature on soybean food products will appear at the
end of the second and concluding article, to be published next month.
Robert cAlmer Harper
By A. B. Stout
THE DEATH of Robert Aimer Harper on May 12, 1946, terminated
a life of 84 years of which nearly 50 years were devoted to botany.
After receiving the degree of Batchelor of Arts from Oberlin College in
1886 he was for two years a teacher of Greek and Latin at Gates College
in Nebraska. Then he spent a part of the year of 1888- 1889 in botanical
study at Johns Hopkins University. For the next two years he was an
instructor in science at Lake Forest Academy in Illinois. He received the
degree of Master of Arts from Oberlin College in 1891. From 1891
until 1898 he was Professor of Botany and Geology at Lake Forest College.
During this period he spent two years in botanical studies and research
at the University of Bonn, Germany, where he studied under the celebrated
botanist Eduard Strasburger and received the degree of Doctor of Phil­osophy
in 1896. From 1896 until 1911 Dr. Harper was Professor of
Botany and Head of the Department of Botany at the University of
Wisconsin. In 1911 he became Torrey Professor of Botany and Head of
the Department of Botany in Columbia University. In 1930, after 19
years of service, he retired from full duties at Columbia University but
remained as Professor Emeritus. He continued in various relations both
at Columbia University and at the New York Botanical Garden until 1938,
when the family moved to Bedford, Virginia. Here he spent his remain­ing
years with Mrs. Helen Sherman Harper, their son Robert, their
daughter- in- law, and their grandson Robert LeRoy Harper on a former
plantation of about 435 acres situated in an area of beautiful Piedmont
scenery.
At Wisconsin University especially, and the lectures of the introductory course,
also at Columbia University, Professor He gave personal attention to the ad-
Harper organized progressive and inte- vanced courses, especially to cytology, to
grated courses in botany for the four the seminar which he conducted for all
years of academic study and for further advanced and postgraduate students, and
postgraduate study. He himself presented to the research by candidates for degrees.
268
ROBERT ALMER HARPER
1862- 1946
Professor Harper was an inspiring
teacher; his knowledge of botany was
authoritative and extensive; his evalua­tions
of subject matter and of research
were critical and constructive. The num­erous
theses done under his supervision
cover a wide range of subjects. This
was a natural consequence of the diver­sity
of his interests, the extent of his
knowledge and his perception in assigning
problems of interest to his students.
Early in his tenure at Wisconsin Uni­versity,
as probably also in his earlier
teaching, Professor Harper organized
field trips for his students and associates.
These were events of pleasant comrade­ship
as well as a means of stimulating
an appreciation of plant life. My first
acquaintance with Professor Harper was
in this connection. It happened that from
1903 to 1907 I was a teacher of science
in the High School at Baraboo, Wiscon­sin,
which was near Devil's Lake. I sent
plant specimens to Professor Harper
for identification and soon the Devil's
Lake area became a favorite spot for
at least one field day each year. The
diversity and. richness of the flora in the
wild mountainous terrain immediately
surrounding this small post- glacial lake
and within the survey of a single day
are almost beyond belief. Professor
Harper's delight and appreciation of the
natural flora were contagious; his ac­quaintance
with its members was inspir­ing.
The survey included all types of
plant life and many species as to identifi­cation,
relationship, ecological status, and
life history. Specimens, especially of the
fungi, were taken for the herbarium or
for study. After coming to Columbia
University, Professor Harper's enthusi­asm
for field trips continued. To facili­tate
these he purchased a large roomy
Panhard automobile in which numerous
excursions were made to places of botani­cal
interest along the seacoast and at
some distance inland about New York
City. After such a field day the labora­tory
with its various techniques became
merely an important means for a better
understanding of living plants in Nature's
great experimental laboratory.
Professor Harper's personal researches
were chiefly concerned with the cytology
and morphology of the slime molds and
of various fungi with special reference
to sexuality and reproduction, and to the
morphogenesis and organization of col­onies
of cells in certain of the algae.
These studies greatly advanced the knowl­edge
of cellular and nuclear behavior in
the life cycle of the fungi. They ex­emplify
careful examination by cytologi-cal
methods, intensive and exhaustive
study of a particular problem, and an
analytical consideration of the observa­tions.
The illustrations of his papers on
cytology are models of execution in pen
and ink drawings.
In the period between 1911 and 1920
Professor Harper was keenly interested
in the then rapidly expanding field of
genetics. He devoted several summers to
the study of the heredity of the inter­mediate
or pseudo- starchy character that
occurs especially in the hybrids obtained
in crosses between sweet corn and flint,
dent, flour and pop- corns. This research
was started in the experimental breeding-plots
at the New York Botanical Garden
and later continued on the farm which
Professor and Mrs. Harper purchased
in New Jersey. During this period gene-
269
tics was the - chief topic of discussion in
the frequent conversations which the
writer had with Professor Harper. The
results and conclusions of this study
were published in 1920.* This paper pre­sents
in a precise and concise manner
his critical evaluation of Mendelian data
and doctrines. Especially did he doubt
the validity of the doctrine of unit fac­tors
and of the purity of germ cells
for such factors especially after hybridi­zation.
He believed that every pair of
contrasted characters will ultimately ex­hibit
intermediates after intervarietal as
well as after interspecific hybridization,
as do the sugar and starchy types of en­dosperm
in corn, and that long continued
selection may be necessary to obtain rela­tively
pure races of such intermediates.
Professor Harper questioned the Men­delian
conception that such variability is
due to the recombination of modifying
or multiple factors of fixed values, or to
" mutations" in such factors. To him the
recognizable elements of protoplasm are
complex, labile, and interacting and are
altered not by self- caused action but by
interaction in the complex process of
" synapsis, maturation and union of
gametes."
Long Service to the Garden
It is appropriate that Professor Har­per's
long and valuable service to the
New York Botanical Garden be surveyed
for the records of this Journal. He
was a Member of the Board of Managers
from 1911 to 1942. He was Chairman of
the Scientific Directors from February
1918 to April 1933, which is the date
when this body was discontinued and its
functions otherwise assigned. Thus Pro­fessor
Harper was closely identified with
many developments and activities respon­sible
for the progress of the Botanical
Garden. For many years he spent at
least one day a week at the Garden,
where he had an office. In 1945 his entire
collection of approximately 15,000 _ separ­ates
and other literature pertaining to
botany was given to the Library of the
New York Botanical Garden, where it
is known as the Robert A. Harper Re­print
Collection. Professor Harper was
chiefly responsible for the installation and
use of equipment for sprays to combat
* Inheritance of sugar and starch characters in
corn. R. A. Harper. Bull. Torrey Botanical
Club 47: 137- 186. 1920.
insect pests and fungous diseases in the
outdoor plantings, and for the addition
of a plant pathologist to the staff. For
more than 30 years he maintained close
and sympathetic relationships with the
administration of the Botanical Garden.
Wood Displayed in Library
Has Fluorescent Properties
THE fluorescent qualities attained by
water which has come in contact with
certain kinds of wood were demonstrated
by a small exhibit in the Garden's library
during the fall. A chalice made from
the wood of Pterocarpus indica from the
Philippines was filled with water. After
several hours, when the water was
poured into a beaker, a pale but definite
fluorescence manifested itself. As the
water evaporated over several days, the
fluorescence became more pronounced.
Chalice from the Philippine wood \ nown
as " lignum nephriticum," which gives a
fluorescent quality to water with which
it has come in contact.
270
The demonstration was inspired by
Clarence McK. Lewis, member of the
Board of Managers, who read the article
entitled " Lignum nephriticum— its his­tory
and an account of the remarkable
fluorescence of its infusion" by W. E.
Safford in the Annual Report of the
Smithsonian Institution for 1915. Noting
that one of the woods which bore the
name of " lignum nephriticum" was pos­sibly
the kind called " red narra" in the
Philippines (" vermilion wood" in the
American trade), and knowing that the
woodworking shops of the Philippine
Railway Company at Iloilo on the Island
of Panay had a supply of this wood
( which is used for ties and also some­times
for flooring and furniture), he
wrote to the Philippines to ask whether
two chalices might be made for him out
of narra lumber.
In due time two chalices arrived, ap­parently
copied from a chalice in a local
church, and one of these was brought
to the New York Botanical Garden for
testing.
Two Kinds of Nephritic Wood
Pterocarpus indica, which is a large
tree belonging to the Leguminosae, is
only one of two or more kinds of wood
that have been renowned for their
fluorescent properties. Another is a
small tree or shrub native to Mexico—
Eysenhardtia polystachya, also of the
Legume family. Relatives of both these
trees have been credited with similar
powers, and it was not until Safford's
paper was published that there seemed
to be any certainty about the true source
— or sources— of this marvelous wood.
Dr. Safford opens his 28- page paper by
saying:
" Lignum nephriticum is a remarkable
wood which was celebrated throughout
Europe in the sixteenth, seventeenth, and
the early part of the eighteenth centuries,
not only for its reputed medicinal virtues
but on account of the strange color
phenomena displayed by its infusion in
spring water. Cups turned from it were
• deemed fit gift for emperors and princes.
' The water drunk from these cups, or
from bowls in which a few chips were
allowed to remain, was declared to work
marvellous cures; and its beautiful opal­escence
and changes in sunlight and
shadow were the subject of investigations
by the most celebrated physicists of that
period. Strange to say, scarcely a frag­ment
of this wood is now to be found in
museums or drug collections. Its very
name has disappeared from modern
pharmacographies and encyclopedias; and
its botanical identity has remained doubt­ful
until the present day. In the present
paper I propose to show that this classic
wood came from two distinct sources,
from trees of distinct genera."
The Mexican species was the wood used
by Robert Boyle in 1663 in his experi­ments
on the fluorescence of light.
News from Abroad
The first correspondence received at
the Garden from Camillo Schneider,
German botanist and horticulturist, since
before the war, reached New York Oct.
7. Written from Berlin Aug. 23, it tells
of activities at San Souci, the famous
castle of Frederick the Great in Potsdam,
just outside Berlin. " Each week we are
going to Sans Souci," Mr. Schneider
writes, " where I have to deal with Rus­sian
professors of the Academy of Science
at Moskau, which . has established a de­partment
of botany at Sans Souci. The
castles and gardens are still intact but
the park is not well kept at present. The
city of Potsdam has been entirely de­stroyed
by bombs."
Mr. Schneider, who has done notable
work in dendrology and who designed the
plantings on a number of large estates
in central Europe, was the Editor of
Gartenschonhcit for some years before
the war. At the outbreak of the first
world war he was in the United States,
and remained here, working at the Arnold
Arboretum until after peace was estab­lished.
He also spent some time at
Cornell University.
271
PICTURE PAMPHLET OF VEGETABLE
GARDENING
HOME food production has not decreased in importance with the con-elusion
of the war. Gardeners who have been raising their own table
crops during the last few years will without question find it advantageous
to continue. Those who have not yet learned the art and fun of growing
vegetables and who have a plot large enough for at least tomatoes and
beans, will be ahead in the game of gardening for food if they start prepar­ing
their soil this fall.
For it is a well established fact among gardeners that the most successful
gardens are begun in autumn. Although digging can still be done in early
spring, November is an ideal time to make the ground ready for next
year's sowing of seeds. It is beneficial to the soil to let it remain in a rough
state over winter, to enable frost and air and decomposition to do their
work.
The first step in digging is to mark the limits of the first trench with
a string pulled tightly between two stakes, then dig the soil out evenly to
the entire depth of the spade. For convenience in finishing the job, the
soil removed should be hauled to the far end of the garden.
This is the time to put in manure or other organic fertiliser, mixing it
well into the bottom of the trench with a spading fork.
When the second trench is dug, the. soil from it is thrown into the
first trench. This process continues, always marking the lines of the
trench carefully with stakes and string, until the end of the garden is
reached. There the soil from the first trench will be ready to throw into
the last. A dose of lime spread over the top is beneficial.
In' spring, artificial fertilizer may be added to the surface. A good
raking then puts the soil in what the gardener calls " good tilth." It is
then ready to receive the seeds and seedlings.
Illustrations of the preparation of the soil appear on the following page.
On the two subsequent pages are shown methods of sowing seeds, setting
out seedlings, and seeing the garden through the summer.
Some of these illustrations were used in the New Yor\ Botanical Garden's booklet
" The Victory Gardens of 1942 and 1943," which is now out of print.
PREPARING THE SOIL FOR VEGETABLES
I. Marking the edge of the trench to be dug. 2. Throwing the soil from a second trench
into the first. 3. Adding manure to the sub- soil. 4. Forking over the bottom of the
trench. 5. Adding commercial fertilizer to the soil's surface in spring. 6. Raking the
• • ' soil fine and smooth to make it ready for the seeds.
272
273
SOWING OF SEEDS AND PLANTING OF SEEDLINGS
7 & 8. Two methods of making furrows for seeds. The stake being pushed along
the string at the left is V- notched to hold it in place. 9. Sowing seeds. 10, 11 fe? 12.
Late March, sowing peas in a trench and covering them with soil, then protecting them
from pests with chicken wire. 13, 14 fe? 15. Setting out cabbage seedlings in early June.
16 fe? 17. Planting young leeks in holes made with the top of an old spade handle.
SOWING OF
SEEDS AND
PLANTING OF •
SEEDLINGS
^ ' V ^ S ^ ' 2 ' 6 '
SEEING THE GARDEN THROUGH THE SUMMER
18. Tall strong stakes for tomatoes. 19 6? 20. Two tools for cultivating between JOWS
of plants— a hoe and a 3- pronged cultivator. ( Photographs by Ewing- Galloway). 21 6?
22. Carrots and lettuce— two of the first crops. 23. Laying the tops of onions flat to
induce ripening of bulbs. 24. Picking the first cabbage. 25. Harvesting kohlrabi while
the size of a golf ball. 26 6? 27. Some of the Garden's crops in midsummer.
274
275
Fastigiate Oak
Reproduced from Seed
By J. G. Esson
MANY woody plants include within the limits of a single species a
number of forms. One may have pendulous branches, another
purple or variegated leaves, yet another may have stems that grow erect
and close together; still another may have fruit of a different color from
that of the recognized species.
None of these forms have been considered by the propagator as likely
to come true from seed, and so vegetative propagation is usually resorted to.
A simple experiment with three acorns collected from a fine specimen of
Quercus Robur fastigiata, that is 63 feet high and growing at Great Neck,
Long Island, produced two ordinary English oaks, with spreading branches,
while the third was a reproduction of the parent plant.
The acorns were collected in the fall of 1931 and planted immediately.
The resulting fastigiate form is now 34 feet tall.
In the center is a fastigiate English oa\ in AH Saints Church cemetery at Great Nec\.
Long Island, and aX the left and right are two of its seedlings grown from acorns
planted in 1931.
THE BESSA PAINTINGS
THE reproduction above is of crape- myrtle ( Lagerstroemia indica). On the opposite
page are shown Gentiana acaulis. Chrysanthemum indicum ( under the name of
Anthemis artemisaefolia), Tibouchina holosericea ( under the name of Rhexia), and
Tulipa Gesneriana var. " Henry IV."
These represent five of the 572 watercolor paintings on parchment made by Pancrace
Bessa in the first quarter of the 19th century, for illustrating the first eight volumes of
the French serial, the " Herbier General de l'Amateur." One hundred of these were on
277
278
exhibit at the New York Botanical Garden for six weeks, beginning with the opening
Members' Day program of the season, Oct. 6. They have been brought to the United
States by Mrs. Flora de Campos- Porto Castatio Ferreira, daughter of Paulo Campos-
Porto of Rio de Janeiro, the owner of the paintings and accompanying parchment text,
and a cousin, Rodrigo Claudio de Campos- Goulart. The two Brazilians were among
the guests at the Garden's program at which the exhibit was opened.
Another selection from the group of paintings is to be shown during the A. A. A. S.
meetings in Boston Dec. 26- 30.
Three- Day Show and ^ Program Staged
With ( Eastern States ( Chrysanthemum Society
OUTDOOR displays of hardy chrysanthemums at the New York
Botanical Garden were at their best for the second annual show
and program presented Oct. 25- 27 in co- operation with the Eastern States
Chrysanthemum Society. Besides approximately 75 varieties in bloom in
the borders adjacent to the conservatory, nearly 125 new varieties,
received from growers in half a dozen northern states, were assembled
for appraisal and test in a border between the conservatory and museum.
In the museum itself, the society staged a competitive exhibit in which
there were entries in 48 classes for horticultural specimens and ten for
artistic arrangements.
Duplicating its success of last year, the
Garden Club of Mamaroneck won the
Scott award, presented by Dr. Ernest L.
Scott, the society's president, for the
outstanding exhibit of the show. The
display, placed on the right as one en­tered
the building, consisted of a garden
planting of chrysanthemums against a
background of appropriate shrubbery. On
the lawn in front grew a small clump
of shaggy- mane mushrooms.
On the opposite side of the door was
an effective display of chrysanthemums in
many varieties with autumn foliage, ex­hibited
by Mr. and Mrs. Marshall Field
and arranged by George H. Gillies, their
head gardener. There was also a col­lection
of chrysanthemums from Totry's
of Madison, N. J.
Other exhibits in the rotunda included
two chrysanthemum borders arranged by
Elsie A. Kiaz of Tenafly, N. J., and
Marie J. Leary of Greenwich, Conn.,
and a group of potted plants from the
Scotts' private greenhouse. At the far
end of the corridor to the left, terminat­ing
the competitive exhibits, was a land­scape
plan set up by the organization that
is developing the Blue Star Drive on
Route 29 in New Jersey as a war
memorial.
Three specimens of the chrysanthemum
" Mrs. H. E. Kidder" brought the tricolor
award in horticulture to Fred Shumaker,
vice- president of the society.
Six flower arrangements were shown
by invitation in shadow- boxes against
the central pillars in the rotunda. Ex­hibitors
were:
Mrs. George J. Hirsch, New Rochelle,
N. Y., first prize and tricolor; Hans
Christian Anderson Madison, Paramus,
N. J., first prize; Mrs. Bernard E. Farley,
Scarsdale, N. Y., and ' Mrs. William
Rathbone, Mamaroneck, N. Y., second
prizes; and Mrs, H. Herbert Johnson,
Leonia, N. J., third prize. A non- com­petitive
composition also was arranged
by Mrs. Johnson.
The program for the opening day be­gan
with an address by S. L. Emsweller,
Principal Horticulturist of the Depart­ment
of Agriculture's Plant Industry
Station at Beltsville. Md., on " Chry­santhemum
Breeding." Part of his talk,
it is planned, will be published in a later
number of the Journal.
T. H. Everett then conducted a clinic
on chrysanthemum culture and disease
279
and pest control. With him on the plat­form,
to help in answering questions
from the audience, were Dr. Emsweller,
Dr. B. O. Dodge, the Garden's Plant
Pathologist; Stuart Longmuir, Head
Gardener for Edward R. Steichen; Louis
Pyenson, State Institute of Agriculture
at Farmingdale; and F. F. Rockwell,
Editor- in- Chief of Home Garden maga­zine.
A new chrysanthemum developed by
V. R. de Petris of Grosse Pointe Farms,
Mich., was then presented to Mary
MacArthur, daughter of Helen Hayes
and Charles MacArthur, by Dr. Scott
and was christened in her honor.
To close the afternoon's program, the
Garden served tea in the Members' Room
to members of the two co- operating
organizations.
On the Saturday and Sunday imme­diately
following, the indoor displays
were open to the public from 10 a. m.
till 5 p. m. and the outdoor exhibits until
dark. It is estimated that 18,000 persons
visited the Garden during the three- day
show.
'' The Gift of Green' 9— Garden s New Film
V f EMBERS of the New York Botani-
+* L c a ] Garden were invited to the first
official showing of the Garden's new
sound and color motion picture film, " The
Gift of Green," in the fourth floor
studio at the Museum of Modern Art
Oct. 18. Four successive showings were
given. Mrs. Antonie P. Voislawsky, a
member of the Advisory Council, rep­resented
the Board of Managers in wel­coming
the audience and introducing the
film. At the preview the day before, Dr.
E. E. Naylor, who is in large part re­sponsible
for the script, explained the
picture briefly to the assembled, press.
" The Gift of Green" tells the story
of photosynthesis— that is, how green
plants function in the presence of light
to manufacture, in their cells, sugars
which are converted into other substances
( even other sugars) and transported to
other parts of the plant.
Produced by Robert Flaherty, under
the immediate direction of his brother,
David Flaherty, the film contains scenes
made in California, Arizona, Florida, as
well as at the New York Botanical
Garden. The National Park Service and
the Fairchild Tropical Garden co- operated.
It includes pictures made through the
microscope, to show the detailed struc­ture
of a plant; lapse- time photographs
to show plants growing and flowers open­ing,
provided through the courtesy of
Allen K. White of Atlantic City ( who
showed his own films at the Garden in
Sept. 1945). Fossils photographed at
the American Museum of Natural His­tory
are included. Animated drawings
show the chemical reactions that take
place when sugar is made within a
green cell. Dr. William J. Robbins served
as technical adviser.
The Sugar Research Foundation, Inc.,
which has financed the making of this
film for the Garden, has acquired 100
copies, and is making it available with­out
cost to schools and other groups
throughout the country / through the
catalog of the Modern Talking Picture
Service. At the Garden, Dr. Naylor
has charge of the film's distribution.
Notes, News, and Comment
Advisory Council. Eight women who
have been active in the work of the
Garden's Manhattan office during the
past year were elected to the Advisory
Council by the Board of Managers Oc­tober
16. They are Mrs. James Cox
Brady, Mrs. Sidney G. De Kay, Mrs.
O'Donnell Iselin, and Mrs. Junius A.
Richards of New York City, Mrs.
Charles Burlingham of New York and
Ridgefield, Conn., Mrs. Reginald Fincke
of New York and Southampton, Long
Island, Mrs. Grafton H. Pyne of New
York and Bernardsville, N. J. and Mrs.
Philip B. Weld of Hastings- on- Hudson
N. Y.
280
Library. Mrs. Elsie Phelon Phillips,
who until recently worked as temporary
gardener at the New York Botanical
Garden and who received a certificate in
the Two- Year Science Course for Garden­ers
last June, has been added to the
library staff as assistant, commencing her
work there November 1.
Board of Managers. A. Percy Saunders,
retired professor of chemistry at Hamil­ton
College, Clinton, N. Y., widely
known as a breeder of peonies, resigned
from the Board of Managers October 16.
He was elected December 7, 1939, to
succeed Raymond H. Torrey.
Hybrid Grapes. Dr. A. B. Stout spent
a week in September at Geneva, N. Y.,
working with the Agricultural Experi­ment
Station there on the new seedless
grapes with which he has been con­cerned
for many years. He reports 309
new seedless grapes developed. One
which is now under test in commercial
plantings is being christened the " Inter­laken
Seedless." Vines will be made
available to growers as soon as possible
SEED COLLECTORS
We are Interested in purchasing
Tree— Shrub— Perennial Seeds
Correspondence invited
HERBST BROTHERS
92 Warren St. New York 7, N. Y.
through the New York State Co- opera­tive
Fruit Testing Association. A limited
number will be distributed next year.
Lectures. Meeting at the Garden Oct.
21, the Advisory Council heard a repeti­tion
of the talk given by Dr. H. W.
Rickett on Members' Day Oct. 2 for the
opening of the exhibit of original 19th
century paintings of flowers by Pancrace
Bessa.
Dr. W. H. Camp addressed the fall
conference of the Garden Club of New
Jersey at Asbury Park, Oct. 23 on plant
exploration. The ninth district of the
Federated Garden Clubs of New York
State, meeting at White Plains Oct. 28,
was addressed by Elizabeth H. Hall on
books for gardeners. The Women's
Guild and Garden Club of Old Greenwich,
Conn., heard Dr. Harold N. Moldenke
speak on plants of the Bible Oct. 17.
T. H. Everett was the speaker at the
Horticultural Society of New York Oct.
16. His lecture, which was on house
plants, was illustrated with kodachrames
and living material. Dr. F. J. Seaver
talked on fungi to the teachers of Julia
Richman High School in New York Oct.
23.
Field Trips. During late summer and
autumn Dr. H. N. Moldenke led numer­ous
field trips for the Torrey Botanical
Club and co- operating organizations.
Among them were visits to Chimney
Rock and Dock Watch Hollow in New
Jersey and Mounts Riga, Everett, and
Washington in the Berkshires of Con­necticut
and Massachusetts.
Visitors. Dr. Carl Epling of the Uni­versity
of California at Los Angeles,
who is spending his sabbatical leave in
the East, is working both at the New
York Botanical Garden and at Columbia
University.
Dr. Luigi Fenaroli, head of the Agri­cultural
Experiment Station at Milan,
Italy, spent the week of Oct. 7 at the
Garden, beginning a study of maize in
the United States. Mr. and Mrs. Brian
O. Mulligan from Loking, England, were
at the Garden Oct. 16 on their way to
Seattle where Mr. Mulligan, formerly at
the Royal Horticultural Society's Gardens
at Wisley, England, is to become super­intendent
of the arboretum of the Uni­versity
of Washington.
281
Stanley J. Smith of Cornell worked at
the Garden in early October on his Ph. D.
thesis on the genus Trillium.
Elisabeth Keiper, Garden Editor of the
Rochester ( New Y" ork) Times- Union
came to the Garden Oct. 19. She was
in New York to receive the medal for
horticultural activity presented by the
New York State Federation of Garden
Clubs at its annual meeting Oct. 21.
Among other visitors who have been
at the Garden in recent weeks were Scott
Haselton of Pasadena, editor of the
Cactus and Succulent Journal; John
F. Cornman of Cornell University, work­ing
on the genus Juniperus; Dr. Walker
Ardes, Jr., an amateur mycologist of
Philadelphia; Frank E. Egler of Nor­folk,
Conn.: Cynthia Westcott of Glen
Ridge, 1 N. J.; and Milton Hopkins of
Roslyn, Long Island.
FM Broadcasts. Since the city's radio
station, WNYC, began broadcasting all
the proceedings of the United Nations
conference, the New York Botanical
Garden's bi- weekly program, scheduled
for alternate Wednesdays at 5: 45 p. m.,
has several times been delayed because
of the long sessions of the conference.
The program is now being transferred to
the FM cycle of WNYC whenever the
United Nations' conference is still on the
air when the Garden's program is due.
Graduate Student. Monroe R. Birdsey
of Middletown, Conn., is registered for
work at the Garden in morphology and
taxonomy under Dr. W. H. Camp," as a
graduate student at Columbia University.
Another Agave. The summer of 1946
was the summer of century- plants. On
Sept. 6 the third specimen in the New
York Botanical Garden's Conservatory
came into bloom for the first time. The
two previous specimens of Agave, A.
neglecta and A. ntpicola ( recorded in the
Journal for August), had hardly died
down when the flower- stalk began to ap­pear
on the third, Agave filifera, a plant
which had been received from the New
York City Department in 1902. A rela­tively
small plant, with a globular rosette
of sharply pointed leaves from which
tough thread- like fibers uncurled at the
edges, it produced a flower- stalk which
grew with great rapidity to a height of
nearly ten feet. When measured Aug.
20 it stood six feet above the base of'
the plant. Ten days later it was nine feet
high, and a week later it began to bloom.
Flowering proceeded upward on the stalk,
a few rows opening each day. It was
estimated that the stalk bore 1,500 in­dividual
flowers— inconspicuous in the
mass, but each' one attractive in itself,
with petals of a lavender- rose color,
and stamens, before they opened to expel
their yellow pollen, of a slightly darker
hue.
Meetings. Going to Philadelphia Oc­tober
17, D r. William J. Robbins at­tended
the three- day meeting of the
American Philosophical Society. Dr. B.
O. Dodge followed him there for the
gathering of the National Academy of
Sciences October 20 to 23. On Sept.
27 to 30 Dr. Robbins also attended a
growth conference at Princeton Uni­versity.
NOTICES AND REVIEWS OF RECENT BOOKS
A Starter in Pelargonium Study
GERANIUMS. Pelargoniums for
Windows and Gardens. Helen
Van Pelt Wilson. 248 pages, in­dexed,
illustrated with watercolors
and line drawings by Natalie Harlan
Davis, also with photographs. M.
Barrows & Co., New York, 1946.
( 2.75.
Miss Wilson writes well. Her books
are a pleasure to read, not just because
they give good descriptions of charming
gardens, with knowledge of the needs
of plants, but because there is a style
about them in the telling. One enjoys
the stories of the different flowers, their
growth, their situations, their color, their
fragrance.
In- this new book, I am not conscious
of this ease. Here one does not slip hap­pily
through the story of the geraniums,
282
as we so firmly call them. The reason
is evident. It is a tough story. Anyone
planning it must often ieel like a person
trying to accomplish Ajax's task. The
vast weight of the rock impedes.
l t is easy to see why this is so. It is
because of the pelargoniums' amiability.
Where they grow protusely in their home
in South Africa and where they tumble
over every wall and rock on the Island
of Saint Helena, they hybridize easily.
This carries on when they are transplanted
to northern abodes. They have been
loved so long that their number is end­less,
and many, many of them have been
given different names. And who can
see them all and name them all correctly?
In writing this for a Botanical Garden
Journal, one cannot quite dismiss the sub­ject
with a blessing. One must mention
that the story is not complete. Even
among this Botanical Garden's 260 pelar­gonium
plants, there are many not in­cluded,
not just among the species, which
would be natural, but among the named
horticultural varieties.
With it all, Miss Wilson has done a
rewarding job. She knows it is a
" starter" and urges further study. She
has gone conscientiously to collections in
the East and in the West and studied the
ones she has seen. She gives many de­lightful
suggestions of color combinations
and numberless situations for sun and
partial shade. She has an extremely good
chapter on the growth of the plants in
an amateur greenhouse. Outdoors under
varying conditions, her hints for their
culture are good. The colors are given
according to the Horticultural Colour
Chart of the Royal Horticultural So­ciety,
which is planned in accordance
with Ridgway, the Repertoire de Couleurs,
and Ostwald.
There are charming little color sketches
and leaf shapes and a portfolio showing
how the plants may be used. Many
people will read her book with pleasure,
identify their own plants, and forget
that it is not and could not, according
to present knowledge, be complete.
SARAH V. COOMBS.
History and Horticulture
In a Gardening Town
OLD SALEM GARDENS. 71 pages,
illustrated, indexed. Published by
t h e Salem Garden Club, Salem,
Mass. May, 1946. ( 1.10.
Here is a small booklet full of his­torical
lore of early Salem gardens,
their design and plant material. From
the complete description of each garden,
and of old Salem itself, one can mentally
recreate a life in which much leisure was
spent in the fine art of gardening by gen­erations
of owners of these beautiful old
mansions in days and ways long since
" gone with the wind."
The little booklet also contains much
horticultural information, simply told, of
plants which thrive in the vicinity, and
should be an inspiration for all lovers
of old gardens. For Americana fanciers
it is full of nostalgia and charmingly
illustrated with pencil drawings of plants
and flowers.
This book is obtainable from Mrs.
Henry R. Johnson, 376 Lafayette St.,
Salem, Mass.
MRS. GUTHRIE SHAW.
Plants of Hawaii National Park
Illustrative of
Plants and Customs of the South Seas
By Otto Degener
( Author, Flora Hawaiicnsis)
Devoted primarily to Hawaii, this book
draws attention to the South Sea Islands as
. i whole, their origin and flora, and the cus­toms
of their kindly natives. Profusely illus­trated.
$ 2.50, from author, New York
Botanical Garden, Bronx Park, N. Y. 58.
Rice Economy of the World
RICE IN THE WESTERN HEMI­SPHERE:
Wartime Developments
and Postwar Problems. V. D. Wick-izer.
48 pages. War- Peace Pam­phlets
No. 7, Food Research In­s
t i t u t e , Stanford University, Cali­fornia.
June 1945. 50 cents.
Rice, the staple grain of China and
South Pacific Asia, and one of the five
original grains planted by that first mythi­cal
Chinese Emperor, Shen- nung, as­sumed
great importance during the recent
world war. In fact, its role had so
magnified that it occupied the serious
283
attention of many governments and rulers,
and has become the subject of much
research and published discussion.
Of considerable interest in this con­nection
is the pamphlet, " Rice in the
Western Hemisphere" by V. D. Wickizer,
published by the Food Research Institute
of Stanford University. It has no deal­ings
with the rice plant or with its culti­vation;
' instead, it confines its discus­sions
strictly to the rice economy of the
world, especially of the Americas in
relation to the war and to the problems,
of postwar adjustment.
The war was'not over when this pam­phlet
was published, hence the discussion
of postwar problems, western hemisphere
trade prospects, the outlook for non-
Asiatic production, and the timing of re­adjustments
is more from the standpoint
of what should be done than from a view
of what had been done.
On the other hand, there is a satisfying
amount of factual information and statis­tics
employed in the study of actual war­time
rice production and its flow from
new sources. They serve also to clarify
and explain the necessary adjustments
demanded by stringent wartime economy
in a country such as India as well as in
- non- Asiatic countries which in years- past
have been so dependent on the big three
of rice production— Burma, Thailand and
Indochina.
One comprehends the predicament of
India which, while free of the actual
devastation of physical warfare, is one
of those countries desperately hit by the
war and in need of contributions from
surplus stocks built up in other parts of
the world. Five per cent of its own needs
of rice must be supplied from the outside.
When this was cut off, the loss was
sufficient to cause a famine.
It is equally interesting to note to what
degree since 1938 Latin- America, par­ticularly
Brazil, Mexico and Ecuador,
have been exporters of rice, and how
since 1940 the six importing countries
have been reduced to only one ( Peru),
and Chile since 1941 has become a con­sistent
exporter.
The fact that the United States_ is the
largest surplus- producing area in _ the
western hemisphere may be surprising
to many, but its significance dwindles
when compared to the vast amounts. oi
rice normally available from Monsoon
Ash. and falls far short when it- is
considered that the recent ( 1944) crop
of 70 million bushels ( 900,000 metric
tons, cleaned basis) was only about three-fourths
of the average crop produced on
the Island of Formosa between 1935- 36
and 1939- 40, and that Formosa is rated as
the smallest surplus- producing area in
southeastern Asia.
WILLARD M. PORTERFIELD, JR.
Conservation Primer
THE LAND RENEWED. William R.
Van Dersal & Edward H. Graham.
109 pages, illustrated. Oxford Uni­versity
Press, New York, 1946. $ 2.
" Top soil, the source of all our food,
is on its way to the sea."
That is the ending of the chapter on
Floods in " The Land Renewed," writ­ten
by two of the best soil experts in
this country. In simple language this
book covers a very complicated subject
with illustrations that are actual photo­graphs
admirably depicting the various
practices now used by the intelligent
farmer who is not only protecting his
soil from that insidious thief, erosion,
but actually making new soil and in­creasing
his income at the same time. I
Bobbink & Atkins
i
N U R S E R Y M E N
AND
p L'A N T S M E N
Most of the unusual Roses, Trees and
Shrubs not obtainable elsewhere will
be found growing in this great
Establishment . . . one unique in the
Annals of American Horticulture.
Visitors Always Welcome
Catalogue Upon Request
Bobbink & Atkins
Paterson Ave., E. Rutherford, N. J.
284
like particularly the chapter on Field
Borders because while protecting crops in
the field, the planting of Lcspcdeza bi-color
is beautiful in bloom in midsummer
with deep lavender flowers. It also im­proves
the soil and feeds quail and other
nativc birds, and is equally valuable as a
wind screen in the garden, growing like
a four- foot hedge.
In the chapter on Democracy in Ac­tion,
the method of establishing soil con­servation
farm districts is explained. The
last two paragraphs give all Americans
courage because the city people depend
on the soil for food and wood as much
as the country dwellers.
" This great movement to improve
American land has been under way for
less than ten years, but already it in­volves
more than half the agricultural
land of the United States. In another
ten years possibly all farm and ranch
land will be in districts, and all the
people will be started on the important
job of soil conservation." These are the
encouraging words of the author, and
the very last sentence of this remarkable
little easy- to- read conservation primer
says, " Freedom, like the soil, is most
appreciated where it is endangered."
JANE B. FRANCKE.
Brookvilie, Long Island.
Flower Arrangement and Therapy
PLEASURES AND PROBLEMS IN
FLOWER ARRANGEMENT. Emma
Hodkinson Cyphers. 100 pages, illus­trated,
indexed. Second edition,
1944. $ 2.
This little booklet, subtitled " A ref­erence
work for flower arrangers," was
presented to the library by Mrs. Clayton
P. Stevens in appreciation of the
courtesies which she and her club received
at the time of the Garden's Fiftieth An­niversary.
Proceeds from the sale of
this booklet, which is obtainable at 114
Prospect St., Passaic, N. J., go to further
the' work in garden therapy carried on
by the Garden Department of the Monday
Afternoon Club.
" Stimulating, informative,
and well worth reading,"
— The Journal of the
N. Y. Botanical Garden.
PLANT LIFE of the
PACIFIC WORLD
by Elmer D. Merrill
Director of the Arnold Arboretum.
This remarkable book, prepared by the leading authority on the flora
of the Pacific region, is the first to cover in one volume the extraor­dinarily
rich plant life found on the Pacific islands. Necessarily,
descriptions must be brief, but a clear, over- all picture of the luxuriant
vegetation is presented.
295 pages 256 drawings Price 83.50
The Macmillan Company, 60 Fifth Avenue, New York 11
THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN
Officers
JOSEPH R. SWAN, President
HENRY DE FOREST BALDWIN, Vice- president
JOHN L. MERRILL, Vice- president
ARTHUR M. ANDERSON, Treasurer
HENRY DE LA MONTAGNE, Secretary
Elective Managers
WILLIAM FELTON BARRETT CHARLES B. HARDING H. HOBART PORTER
HOWARD BAYNE MRS. ELON HUNTINGTON FRANCIS E. POWELL, JR.
EDWIN DE T. BECHTEL HOOKER MRS. HAROLD I. PRATT
HENRY F. DU PONT MRS. ALBERT D. LASKER WILLIAM J. ROBBINS
MARSHALL FIELD CLARENCE MCK. LEWIS EDMUND W. SINNOTT
REV. ROBERT I. GANNON, E. D. MERRILL CHAUNCEY STILLMAN
S. J. ROBERT H. MONTGOMERY SIDNEY J. WEINBERG
Ex- Officio Managers
WILLIAM O'DWYER, Mayor of the City of New York
ANDREW G. CLAUSON, JR., President of the Board of Education
ROBERT MOSES, Park Commissioner
Appointive Managers
By the Torrey Botanical Club
H. A. GLEASON
By Columbia University
MARSTON T. BOGERT MARCUS M. RHOADES
CHARLES W. BALLARD SAM F. TRELEASE
THE STAFF
WILLIAM J. ROBBINS, P H . D . , SC. D. Director
H. A. GLEASON, P H . D . Assistant Director and Curator
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Foods from Fermented Soy beans as Prepared in the Netherlands Indies 1—Taohoo, a Cheese-like Substance, and Some Other Products; Robert Aimer Harper; Wood Displayed in Library Has Fluorescent Properties; Picture Pamphlet of Vegetable Gardening; Fastigiate Oak Reproduced from Seed; The Bessa Paintings; Three-Day Show and Program Staged with Eastern States Chrysanthemum Society; "The Gift of Green".

JOURNAL
OF
THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN
VOL. 47
No. 563
NOVEMBER
1 9 4 6
PAGES
261— 284
JOURNAL OF THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN
CAROL H. WOODWARD, Editor
EVENTS— LATE NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER 1946
History of Paper- Making
An exhibit covering several thousand years of paper- making, arranged by Harrison
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on view on the main floor of the Museum Building until mid- December. Samples of
the earliest paper made in the pioneering countries of Asia, Europe, and North America
are shown, with informative labels explaining the process of manufacture by hand and
by machine. Hand- made papers produced by Mr. Elliott himself are included in the
exhibit, also some rare books printed on paper made from different kinds of pulp.
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The Vernay Nyasaland Expedition L. J. Brass
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Assistant Curator
Dec. 11— Farm and Garden Crops of Colonial America Anne Dorrance
Author of " Green Cargoes'' and other books
Dec. 25— After- Christmas Care of Christmas Plants Montague Free
Staff Horticulturist, Home Garden Magazine
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Assistant Curator
Nov. 30— The Romance of the Hudson Mrs. Gordon ~ Wightman
Hudson River Conservation Society
Dec. 7— Careers for Cellulose
A motion picture in sound and color, with comment by W. D. Turner,
Technical Consultant on Plastics.
Programs to be resumed after the holidays.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
November 1946
FROM GARDEN AND FARM— STILL LIFE COMPOSITION BY ELMER N. MITCHELL
Cover photograph
FOODS FROM FERMENTED SOYBEANS . As PREPARED IN THE NETHERLANDS INDIES
I— TAOHOO, A CHEESE- LIKE SUBSTANCE, AND SOME OTHER
PRODUCTS GeroM Stahel 261
ROBERT ALMER HARPER A. B. Stout 267
WOOD DISPLAYED IN LIBRARY HAS FLUORESCENT PROPERTIES 269
PICTURE PAMPHLET OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 271
FASTIGIATE OAK REPRODUCED FROM SEED J. G. Esson 275
THE BESSA PAINTINGS - - - - 276
THREE- DAY SHOW AND PROCRAM STAGED WITH EASTERN STATES
CHRYSANTHEMUM SOCIETY 278
" THE GIFT OF GREEN" 279
NOTES, NEWS, AND COMMENT 279
NOTICES AND REVIEWS OF RECENT BOOKS 281
The Journal is published monthly by The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx Park, New York 58,
N. Y. Printed in U. S. A. Entered as Second Class Matter, January 28, 1936, at the Post Office
at New York, N. Y., under the Act of August 24, 1912. Annual subscription $ 1.50. Single copies
15 cents. - - —
2' 4, 1912. Annual subscription $ 1.50. Single cc
JOURNAL
of-
THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN
VOL. 47 NOVEMBER 1946 No. 563
Foods from Fermented Soybeans . . .
QAS ^ Prepared in the { Netherlands Indies
I— Taohoo, A Cheese- Like Substance, and Some Other Products
By Ceroid Stahel
Director, Agricultural Experiment Station,
Paramaribo, Surinam
IN East Asia— and here in Surinam too— soybeans are planted for seed
production alone, chiefly for human consumption, in contrast to the
diverse uses made of the crop in North America, where much of it is fed
as hay to cattle and a large proportion also goes into plastics and other
products. Relatively few soybeans are eaten in the United States. Despite
intensive advertising campaigns, western peoples seem to prefer to convert
their soybeans into meat and cow's milk. This may be a less economical
way to use them, but to them these products are more palatable.
Eastern peoples have developed other means for overcoming the rather
bitter taste of soybeans and their failure to cook soft. They have learned
to ferment the soybeans with quick- growing fungi, thus making several
palatable and wholesome foods.
Most important of these foods are TAOHOO and TEMPE; also TAOKOAN,
a cheese made from taohoo; TAOTJO, a fermented paste- like condiment, and
KETJAP, which is soy sauce. Soybean milk is also made, but without a
fungus, and sprouted soybeans are widely used by orientals.
Sprouts and Milk from Soybeans
In the Netherlands East Indies sprouted soybeans are called TOKOLAN
or TAOGE. They are one of the ingredients of every " rijst- tafel" ( rice
table, or combination of rice dishes) and therefore are never lacking in the
" passar" ( market). Even in our Paramaribo market, tokolan is displayed
for sale every day.*
* Directions for the sprouting of soybeans were published in this Journal for
November, 1943.
261
262
To make soy milk, beans of the yellow variety are soaked in water and
ground in a mill. The product is diluted with water and filtered through
cheesecloth. The milk obtained in this way has about the same properties
and nearly the same composition and proteins as cow's milk. In China
it is used in the same manner as cow's milk. In the United States too
soy milk is consumed, though on a very limited scale. In the Netherlands
East Indies this milk is only slightly known as food, but it is produced in
large quantities for the manufacturing of soy cheese, called TAOHOO or
TAHOO.
Cheese- Like Products
Just as in making cheese with common milk, a kind of starter is added
to the warm soy milk, which immediately begins to coagulate. Most of this
curd, or taohoo, is either eaten fresh or baked in oil or lard. In China it
is sometimes processed further into a kind of real cheese by impregnating
the curd with turmeric and reducing the water content by heavier pressing.
This cheese, called TAOKOAN, has a yellow color and can be shipped abroad.
TEMPE is a typical product of the Netherlands East Indies and is un­known
in China and elsewhere. To make tempe, soybeans are molded by
the very quick- growing fungus, Rhizopus Oryzae, which grows at its best
only at the permanently high temperatures of the tropics. For this reason
the manufacture of tempe is restricted to tropical countries. Here in
Surinam, as in the East Indies, most of the soybeans are consumed in this
form. In this Journal I propose to give an account of the preparation
of taohoo, and in the next one, of tempe.
How Taohoo Is Made
After tempe, taohoo is the most common form of soybean product eaten
in the Netherlands East Indies. In China, it is the most important soy
product. Taohoo is manufactured here in Surinam only on a very limited
scale, by a single Chinese store- keeper close to the Paramaribo market- halls
along the Surinam River. Twice daily, between 2 and 4 o'clock in the
morning and again in the afternoon, he manufactures 11J4 kilograms of
taohoo, to be sold after 6 o'clock the next morning. We visited this
Chinese kitchen in February in the early morning and again in the after­noon
to see the whole procedure.
At about 8 o'clock in the morning and evening 5.8 kilograms of soybeans
are put into a pail containing about 4J- 2 times this amount of water. As in
East Asia, the yellow variety is used for this purpose. The black one is
just as suitable, but has to be peeled very carefully before milling, other­wise
the curd turns a dark color. For this reason the yellow soya fetches
higher prices here than the black one.
In water the beans swell considerably and after six hours they have a
volume two and one half times that of the dry beans. The actual manufac­ture
of taohoo then begins.
263
CHINESE KITCHEN EQUIPPED WITH. IMPLEMENTS FOR
TAOHOO MANUFACTURE
In the drain of the lower millstone, the white soybean mash can be seen flowing slowly
into the bag of cheesecloth hanging in the wooden barrel. At the left, a part of the
square plan\, and on the wall, parts of two frames for use in making taohoo, are
discernible. Also on the left stands a large earthenware pot filled with brine td be
used for coagulation of the curd.
The thoroughly soaked beans, whose water content is now 63.3%
instead of 15.9% as in the dry beans, are milled in a small stone- mill with
two stones of 50 centimeters diameter. The upper stone rotates, whereas
the lower is fixed and possesses an all- round drain. This mill comes
from Hongkong, from where others have been sent all over the world,
wherever Chinese people live. The upper stone is turned by a man with
the aid of a long wooden lever. Every time that a ladle with wet soybeans
and water is brought into the hole in the upper stone, rotation has to be
stopped.
The thick fluid in the mill streams slowly through the drain into a bag
of cheesecloth which hangs in a wooden barrel. A sample of this fluid
proved to contain 84.6% water. This means that to every kilogram of
beans of 15.9% water content 4.6 liters of water have to be added to
obtain a sufficiently fluid milling product. To the 5.8 kilograms of soy-
264
Condiments Made with Aspergillus
TAOTJO and KETJAP are soy products fermented by another fungus,
Aspergillus Oryzae. The first is eaten as a kind of paste, the second is
used in a fluid form, and is familiar throughout much of the world under
the simple name of soy sauce.
To make TAOTJO, boiled soybeans are mixed with roasted meal of wheat
or glutinous rice. This mass is wrapped in hibiscus leaves, which commonly
harbor the Aspergillus fungus. After two or three days the moldy mass
is brought into brine and kept for several weeks. Palm sugar is added at
intervals. Taotjo must be made in the dry season, because every day it
has to be brought outside into sun and air for hours. This dish is eaten
in the East with the " rijst- tafel." In Surinam it is not manufactured at all.
KETJAP, the well known soy sauce, is made all over East Asia and even
here in Surinam. - To manufacture ketjap the soybeans are boiled and
after cooling are wrapped in hibiscus leaves, just as with taotjo, but without
mixing in the roasted meal. After fermenting for two or three days the
mass is brought into brine, as with taotjo. Every day for one to several
months it is exposed to the sun At intervals a little palm sugar is added.
Then the fluid is filtered and the residue cooked several times with fresh
water to extract all the soluble parts. The fluid is then concentrated by
slow boiling. Spices and other piquant materials are added, according to
the speciality de la maison. These may include gaiangal, ginger, cloves,
Jew's ear fungus, and dried and ground fish and chicken meat.
beans our Chinese therefore has to add as much as 26^ 2 liters of water.
During the milling of the beans, water is boiled in a 50 liter pan. When
milling is finished, the barrel is brought close to the pan. Then the hot
water is ladled in the bag with bean residue, which is being moved con­stantly
by pulling and stretching it to hasten filtration. After the pan is
emptied and filtration slackens, the bag is placed on a grate above the
barrel, the free part being twisted and closed tightly in this way. The bag
is then pressed firmly to separate the milk as completely as possible from
the residue.
There are now about 75 ljters of milk in the barrel. Fifty liters are
ladled back into the pan and 25 go in a pail placed next to the pan on the
hearth. When the temperature of the milk reaches the boiling point, it is
brought back to the barrel and successively the 25 liters of milk in the pail
are poured into the pan to be heated. At least 45 liters of water of about
28° C are added now to the hot milk in the barrel. By now the 120 liters
of milk may have a temperature of 65- 70° C.
Then the starter, consisting of one liter of a 12% solution of salt and 15
cubic centimeters of 80% acetic acid, is added to the fluid, which is con­stantly
stirred with a rod.
Almost immediately the white color changes into a greyish one and flocks
of curd appear floating in the fluid. When the curd begins to settle a hand-
265
basket with fine meshes is held in the whey and the clear fluid which
filters into it, is ladled into pails and thrown away. When most of the
whey is removed in this way, the watery curd is transferred to a cheesecloth
lying crosswise over a loose wooden frame of 2 feet square and 12 centi­meters
high and placed on a square plank. Now on all sides the fluid drips
away and our Chinese tries to hasten the filtration by drawing the corners
of the cloth subsequently back over the cheese. Then the four corners
of the cloth are placed over the curd and a plank just fitting in the frame
is put on the curd and loaded with a pail containing 30 liters of water. To
prevent the sticking of the plank to the cheesecloth a frame of very thin
wooden laths is placed between them. When after ten minutes no further
fluid drips out, the plank is removed again and the corners of the cheese­cloth
are carefully drawn, so that all the wrinkles disappear. Now plank
and pail are replaced and remain on the curd for several hours.
The cheese is now about one inch high, and contains 84) 4 % water. It
is cut into 100 pieces, each 6 centimeters square. Those made in the early
morning are sold after 6 o'clock in the morning as white soft curd. At
the same time those of the afternoon of the previous day are sold as cakes,
baked during the night in lard.
Pieces of fresh taohoo, four- fifths natural size.
266
Freshly ba^ ed taohoo, four- fifths natural size.
There are two kinds of waste products in the manufacture of taohoo, one
the filter- residue and the other the whey. The first product may be fed
to pigs as a concentrate; the second is useless and is thrown away.
In China, 50 grams of calcinated plaster of Paris is used to start the
coagulation of the same quantity of soy milk. The whey from this may
be used in agriculture as a thin liquid manure, whereas whey containing salt
will be harmful for this purpose in the long run.
The table below shows the output of the different products resulting
from the processing of 5.8 kilograms of soybeans into taohoo.
5.8 kg. soybeans
Water content Dry Matter
% kg. %
15.9 4.84 —
Protein ,
kg. %
1.9 —
Fat
kg. %
0.8 —
11.4 kg. taohoo
120 1. whey
10.2 kg. filter- residue
84.6
99.13
81.5
1.76
1.04
1.89
37.5
22.2
40.3
1.1
0.3
0.6
55
15
30
0.6
0.02
0.2
75
4.69 100 2.0 Oi 100
More than half of the protein and J4 of the fat present in soybeans go
into the taohoo, whereas about 1/ 3 of the protein and % of the fat are
267
found in the press- residue. The whey contains only 1/ 7 of the protein and
almost no ' fat at all. In the whey are found most of the soluble carbo­hydrates,
such as galactan, pentosans, and others.
Taohoo is occasionally manufactured in the United States for the
Chinese restaurant trade.
A list of references to the literature on soybean food products will appear at the
end of the second and concluding article, to be published next month.
Robert cAlmer Harper
By A. B. Stout
THE DEATH of Robert Aimer Harper on May 12, 1946, terminated
a life of 84 years of which nearly 50 years were devoted to botany.
After receiving the degree of Batchelor of Arts from Oberlin College in
1886 he was for two years a teacher of Greek and Latin at Gates College
in Nebraska. Then he spent a part of the year of 1888- 1889 in botanical
study at Johns Hopkins University. For the next two years he was an
instructor in science at Lake Forest Academy in Illinois. He received the
degree of Master of Arts from Oberlin College in 1891. From 1891
until 1898 he was Professor of Botany and Geology at Lake Forest College.
During this period he spent two years in botanical studies and research
at the University of Bonn, Germany, where he studied under the celebrated
botanist Eduard Strasburger and received the degree of Doctor of Phil­osophy
in 1896. From 1896 until 1911 Dr. Harper was Professor of
Botany and Head of the Department of Botany at the University of
Wisconsin. In 1911 he became Torrey Professor of Botany and Head of
the Department of Botany in Columbia University. In 1930, after 19
years of service, he retired from full duties at Columbia University but
remained as Professor Emeritus. He continued in various relations both
at Columbia University and at the New York Botanical Garden until 1938,
when the family moved to Bedford, Virginia. Here he spent his remain­ing
years with Mrs. Helen Sherman Harper, their son Robert, their
daughter- in- law, and their grandson Robert LeRoy Harper on a former
plantation of about 435 acres situated in an area of beautiful Piedmont
scenery.
At Wisconsin University especially, and the lectures of the introductory course,
also at Columbia University, Professor He gave personal attention to the ad-
Harper organized progressive and inte- vanced courses, especially to cytology, to
grated courses in botany for the four the seminar which he conducted for all
years of academic study and for further advanced and postgraduate students, and
postgraduate study. He himself presented to the research by candidates for degrees.
268
ROBERT ALMER HARPER
1862- 1946
Professor Harper was an inspiring
teacher; his knowledge of botany was
authoritative and extensive; his evalua­tions
of subject matter and of research
were critical and constructive. The num­erous
theses done under his supervision
cover a wide range of subjects. This
was a natural consequence of the diver­sity
of his interests, the extent of his
knowledge and his perception in assigning
problems of interest to his students.
Early in his tenure at Wisconsin Uni­versity,
as probably also in his earlier
teaching, Professor Harper organized
field trips for his students and associates.
These were events of pleasant comrade­ship
as well as a means of stimulating
an appreciation of plant life. My first
acquaintance with Professor Harper was
in this connection. It happened that from
1903 to 1907 I was a teacher of science
in the High School at Baraboo, Wiscon­sin,
which was near Devil's Lake. I sent
plant specimens to Professor Harper
for identification and soon the Devil's
Lake area became a favorite spot for
at least one field day each year. The
diversity and. richness of the flora in the
wild mountainous terrain immediately
surrounding this small post- glacial lake
and within the survey of a single day
are almost beyond belief. Professor
Harper's delight and appreciation of the
natural flora were contagious; his ac­quaintance
with its members was inspir­ing.
The survey included all types of
plant life and many species as to identifi­cation,
relationship, ecological status, and
life history. Specimens, especially of the
fungi, were taken for the herbarium or
for study. After coming to Columbia
University, Professor Harper's enthusi­asm
for field trips continued. To facili­tate
these he purchased a large roomy
Panhard automobile in which numerous
excursions were made to places of botani­cal
interest along the seacoast and at
some distance inland about New York
City. After such a field day the labora­tory
with its various techniques became
merely an important means for a better
understanding of living plants in Nature's
great experimental laboratory.
Professor Harper's personal researches
were chiefly concerned with the cytology
and morphology of the slime molds and
of various fungi with special reference
to sexuality and reproduction, and to the
morphogenesis and organization of col­onies
of cells in certain of the algae.
These studies greatly advanced the knowl­edge
of cellular and nuclear behavior in
the life cycle of the fungi. They ex­emplify
careful examination by cytologi-cal
methods, intensive and exhaustive
study of a particular problem, and an
analytical consideration of the observa­tions.
The illustrations of his papers on
cytology are models of execution in pen
and ink drawings.
In the period between 1911 and 1920
Professor Harper was keenly interested
in the then rapidly expanding field of
genetics. He devoted several summers to
the study of the heredity of the inter­mediate
or pseudo- starchy character that
occurs especially in the hybrids obtained
in crosses between sweet corn and flint,
dent, flour and pop- corns. This research
was started in the experimental breeding-plots
at the New York Botanical Garden
and later continued on the farm which
Professor and Mrs. Harper purchased
in New Jersey. During this period gene-
269
tics was the - chief topic of discussion in
the frequent conversations which the
writer had with Professor Harper. The
results and conclusions of this study
were published in 1920.* This paper pre­sents
in a precise and concise manner
his critical evaluation of Mendelian data
and doctrines. Especially did he doubt
the validity of the doctrine of unit fac­tors
and of the purity of germ cells
for such factors especially after hybridi­zation.
He believed that every pair of
contrasted characters will ultimately ex­hibit
intermediates after intervarietal as
well as after interspecific hybridization,
as do the sugar and starchy types of en­dosperm
in corn, and that long continued
selection may be necessary to obtain rela­tively
pure races of such intermediates.
Professor Harper questioned the Men­delian
conception that such variability is
due to the recombination of modifying
or multiple factors of fixed values, or to
" mutations" in such factors. To him the
recognizable elements of protoplasm are
complex, labile, and interacting and are
altered not by self- caused action but by
interaction in the complex process of
" synapsis, maturation and union of
gametes."
Long Service to the Garden
It is appropriate that Professor Har­per's
long and valuable service to the
New York Botanical Garden be surveyed
for the records of this Journal. He
was a Member of the Board of Managers
from 1911 to 1942. He was Chairman of
the Scientific Directors from February
1918 to April 1933, which is the date
when this body was discontinued and its
functions otherwise assigned. Thus Pro­fessor
Harper was closely identified with
many developments and activities respon­sible
for the progress of the Botanical
Garden. For many years he spent at
least one day a week at the Garden,
where he had an office. In 1945 his entire
collection of approximately 15,000 _ separ­ates
and other literature pertaining to
botany was given to the Library of the
New York Botanical Garden, where it
is known as the Robert A. Harper Re­print
Collection. Professor Harper was
chiefly responsible for the installation and
use of equipment for sprays to combat
* Inheritance of sugar and starch characters in
corn. R. A. Harper. Bull. Torrey Botanical
Club 47: 137- 186. 1920.
insect pests and fungous diseases in the
outdoor plantings, and for the addition
of a plant pathologist to the staff. For
more than 30 years he maintained close
and sympathetic relationships with the
administration of the Botanical Garden.
Wood Displayed in Library
Has Fluorescent Properties
THE fluorescent qualities attained by
water which has come in contact with
certain kinds of wood were demonstrated
by a small exhibit in the Garden's library
during the fall. A chalice made from
the wood of Pterocarpus indica from the
Philippines was filled with water. After
several hours, when the water was
poured into a beaker, a pale but definite
fluorescence manifested itself. As the
water evaporated over several days, the
fluorescence became more pronounced.
Chalice from the Philippine wood \ nown
as " lignum nephriticum," which gives a
fluorescent quality to water with which
it has come in contact.
270
The demonstration was inspired by
Clarence McK. Lewis, member of the
Board of Managers, who read the article
entitled " Lignum nephriticum— its his­tory
and an account of the remarkable
fluorescence of its infusion" by W. E.
Safford in the Annual Report of the
Smithsonian Institution for 1915. Noting
that one of the woods which bore the
name of " lignum nephriticum" was pos­sibly
the kind called " red narra" in the
Philippines (" vermilion wood" in the
American trade), and knowing that the
woodworking shops of the Philippine
Railway Company at Iloilo on the Island
of Panay had a supply of this wood
( which is used for ties and also some­times
for flooring and furniture), he
wrote to the Philippines to ask whether
two chalices might be made for him out
of narra lumber.
In due time two chalices arrived, ap­parently
copied from a chalice in a local
church, and one of these was brought
to the New York Botanical Garden for
testing.
Two Kinds of Nephritic Wood
Pterocarpus indica, which is a large
tree belonging to the Leguminosae, is
only one of two or more kinds of wood
that have been renowned for their
fluorescent properties. Another is a
small tree or shrub native to Mexico—
Eysenhardtia polystachya, also of the
Legume family. Relatives of both these
trees have been credited with similar
powers, and it was not until Safford's
paper was published that there seemed
to be any certainty about the true source
— or sources— of this marvelous wood.
Dr. Safford opens his 28- page paper by
saying:
" Lignum nephriticum is a remarkable
wood which was celebrated throughout
Europe in the sixteenth, seventeenth, and
the early part of the eighteenth centuries,
not only for its reputed medicinal virtues
but on account of the strange color
phenomena displayed by its infusion in
spring water. Cups turned from it were
• deemed fit gift for emperors and princes.
' The water drunk from these cups, or
from bowls in which a few chips were
allowed to remain, was declared to work
marvellous cures; and its beautiful opal­escence
and changes in sunlight and
shadow were the subject of investigations
by the most celebrated physicists of that
period. Strange to say, scarcely a frag­ment
of this wood is now to be found in
museums or drug collections. Its very
name has disappeared from modern
pharmacographies and encyclopedias; and
its botanical identity has remained doubt­ful
until the present day. In the present
paper I propose to show that this classic
wood came from two distinct sources,
from trees of distinct genera."
The Mexican species was the wood used
by Robert Boyle in 1663 in his experi­ments
on the fluorescence of light.
News from Abroad
The first correspondence received at
the Garden from Camillo Schneider,
German botanist and horticulturist, since
before the war, reached New York Oct.
7. Written from Berlin Aug. 23, it tells
of activities at San Souci, the famous
castle of Frederick the Great in Potsdam,
just outside Berlin. " Each week we are
going to Sans Souci," Mr. Schneider
writes, " where I have to deal with Rus­sian
professors of the Academy of Science
at Moskau, which . has established a de­partment
of botany at Sans Souci. The
castles and gardens are still intact but
the park is not well kept at present. The
city of Potsdam has been entirely de­stroyed
by bombs."
Mr. Schneider, who has done notable
work in dendrology and who designed the
plantings on a number of large estates
in central Europe, was the Editor of
Gartenschonhcit for some years before
the war. At the outbreak of the first
world war he was in the United States,
and remained here, working at the Arnold
Arboretum until after peace was estab­lished.
He also spent some time at
Cornell University.
271
PICTURE PAMPHLET OF VEGETABLE
GARDENING
HOME food production has not decreased in importance with the con-elusion
of the war. Gardeners who have been raising their own table
crops during the last few years will without question find it advantageous
to continue. Those who have not yet learned the art and fun of growing
vegetables and who have a plot large enough for at least tomatoes and
beans, will be ahead in the game of gardening for food if they start prepar­ing
their soil this fall.
For it is a well established fact among gardeners that the most successful
gardens are begun in autumn. Although digging can still be done in early
spring, November is an ideal time to make the ground ready for next
year's sowing of seeds. It is beneficial to the soil to let it remain in a rough
state over winter, to enable frost and air and decomposition to do their
work.
The first step in digging is to mark the limits of the first trench with
a string pulled tightly between two stakes, then dig the soil out evenly to
the entire depth of the spade. For convenience in finishing the job, the
soil removed should be hauled to the far end of the garden.
This is the time to put in manure or other organic fertiliser, mixing it
well into the bottom of the trench with a spading fork.
When the second trench is dug, the. soil from it is thrown into the
first trench. This process continues, always marking the lines of the
trench carefully with stakes and string, until the end of the garden is
reached. There the soil from the first trench will be ready to throw into
the last. A dose of lime spread over the top is beneficial.
In' spring, artificial fertilizer may be added to the surface. A good
raking then puts the soil in what the gardener calls " good tilth." It is
then ready to receive the seeds and seedlings.
Illustrations of the preparation of the soil appear on the following page.
On the two subsequent pages are shown methods of sowing seeds, setting
out seedlings, and seeing the garden through the summer.
Some of these illustrations were used in the New Yor\ Botanical Garden's booklet
" The Victory Gardens of 1942 and 1943," which is now out of print.
PREPARING THE SOIL FOR VEGETABLES
I. Marking the edge of the trench to be dug. 2. Throwing the soil from a second trench
into the first. 3. Adding manure to the sub- soil. 4. Forking over the bottom of the
trench. 5. Adding commercial fertilizer to the soil's surface in spring. 6. Raking the
• • ' soil fine and smooth to make it ready for the seeds.
272
273
SOWING OF SEEDS AND PLANTING OF SEEDLINGS
7 & 8. Two methods of making furrows for seeds. The stake being pushed along
the string at the left is V- notched to hold it in place. 9. Sowing seeds. 10, 11 fe? 12.
Late March, sowing peas in a trench and covering them with soil, then protecting them
from pests with chicken wire. 13, 14 fe? 15. Setting out cabbage seedlings in early June.
16 fe? 17. Planting young leeks in holes made with the top of an old spade handle.
SOWING OF
SEEDS AND
PLANTING OF •
SEEDLINGS
^ ' V ^ S ^ ' 2 ' 6 '
SEEING THE GARDEN THROUGH THE SUMMER
18. Tall strong stakes for tomatoes. 19 6? 20. Two tools for cultivating between JOWS
of plants— a hoe and a 3- pronged cultivator. ( Photographs by Ewing- Galloway). 21 6?
22. Carrots and lettuce— two of the first crops. 23. Laying the tops of onions flat to
induce ripening of bulbs. 24. Picking the first cabbage. 25. Harvesting kohlrabi while
the size of a golf ball. 26 6? 27. Some of the Garden's crops in midsummer.
274
275
Fastigiate Oak
Reproduced from Seed
By J. G. Esson
MANY woody plants include within the limits of a single species a
number of forms. One may have pendulous branches, another
purple or variegated leaves, yet another may have stems that grow erect
and close together; still another may have fruit of a different color from
that of the recognized species.
None of these forms have been considered by the propagator as likely
to come true from seed, and so vegetative propagation is usually resorted to.
A simple experiment with three acorns collected from a fine specimen of
Quercus Robur fastigiata, that is 63 feet high and growing at Great Neck,
Long Island, produced two ordinary English oaks, with spreading branches,
while the third was a reproduction of the parent plant.
The acorns were collected in the fall of 1931 and planted immediately.
The resulting fastigiate form is now 34 feet tall.
In the center is a fastigiate English oa\ in AH Saints Church cemetery at Great Nec\.
Long Island, and aX the left and right are two of its seedlings grown from acorns
planted in 1931.
THE BESSA PAINTINGS
THE reproduction above is of crape- myrtle ( Lagerstroemia indica). On the opposite
page are shown Gentiana acaulis. Chrysanthemum indicum ( under the name of
Anthemis artemisaefolia), Tibouchina holosericea ( under the name of Rhexia), and
Tulipa Gesneriana var. " Henry IV."
These represent five of the 572 watercolor paintings on parchment made by Pancrace
Bessa in the first quarter of the 19th century, for illustrating the first eight volumes of
the French serial, the " Herbier General de l'Amateur." One hundred of these were on
277
278
exhibit at the New York Botanical Garden for six weeks, beginning with the opening
Members' Day program of the season, Oct. 6. They have been brought to the United
States by Mrs. Flora de Campos- Porto Castatio Ferreira, daughter of Paulo Campos-
Porto of Rio de Janeiro, the owner of the paintings and accompanying parchment text,
and a cousin, Rodrigo Claudio de Campos- Goulart. The two Brazilians were among
the guests at the Garden's program at which the exhibit was opened.
Another selection from the group of paintings is to be shown during the A. A. A. S.
meetings in Boston Dec. 26- 30.
Three- Day Show and ^ Program Staged
With ( Eastern States ( Chrysanthemum Society
OUTDOOR displays of hardy chrysanthemums at the New York
Botanical Garden were at their best for the second annual show
and program presented Oct. 25- 27 in co- operation with the Eastern States
Chrysanthemum Society. Besides approximately 75 varieties in bloom in
the borders adjacent to the conservatory, nearly 125 new varieties,
received from growers in half a dozen northern states, were assembled
for appraisal and test in a border between the conservatory and museum.
In the museum itself, the society staged a competitive exhibit in which
there were entries in 48 classes for horticultural specimens and ten for
artistic arrangements.
Duplicating its success of last year, the
Garden Club of Mamaroneck won the
Scott award, presented by Dr. Ernest L.
Scott, the society's president, for the
outstanding exhibit of the show. The
display, placed on the right as one en­tered
the building, consisted of a garden
planting of chrysanthemums against a
background of appropriate shrubbery. On
the lawn in front grew a small clump
of shaggy- mane mushrooms.
On the opposite side of the door was
an effective display of chrysanthemums in
many varieties with autumn foliage, ex­hibited
by Mr. and Mrs. Marshall Field
and arranged by George H. Gillies, their
head gardener. There was also a col­lection
of chrysanthemums from Totry's
of Madison, N. J.
Other exhibits in the rotunda included
two chrysanthemum borders arranged by
Elsie A. Kiaz of Tenafly, N. J., and
Marie J. Leary of Greenwich, Conn.,
and a group of potted plants from the
Scotts' private greenhouse. At the far
end of the corridor to the left, terminat­ing
the competitive exhibits, was a land­scape
plan set up by the organization that
is developing the Blue Star Drive on
Route 29 in New Jersey as a war
memorial.
Three specimens of the chrysanthemum
" Mrs. H. E. Kidder" brought the tricolor
award in horticulture to Fred Shumaker,
vice- president of the society.
Six flower arrangements were shown
by invitation in shadow- boxes against
the central pillars in the rotunda. Ex­hibitors
were:
Mrs. George J. Hirsch, New Rochelle,
N. Y., first prize and tricolor; Hans
Christian Anderson Madison, Paramus,
N. J., first prize; Mrs. Bernard E. Farley,
Scarsdale, N. Y., and ' Mrs. William
Rathbone, Mamaroneck, N. Y., second
prizes; and Mrs, H. Herbert Johnson,
Leonia, N. J., third prize. A non- com­petitive
composition also was arranged
by Mrs. Johnson.
The program for the opening day be­gan
with an address by S. L. Emsweller,
Principal Horticulturist of the Depart­ment
of Agriculture's Plant Industry
Station at Beltsville. Md., on " Chry­santhemum
Breeding." Part of his talk,
it is planned, will be published in a later
number of the Journal.
T. H. Everett then conducted a clinic
on chrysanthemum culture and disease
279
and pest control. With him on the plat­form,
to help in answering questions
from the audience, were Dr. Emsweller,
Dr. B. O. Dodge, the Garden's Plant
Pathologist; Stuart Longmuir, Head
Gardener for Edward R. Steichen; Louis
Pyenson, State Institute of Agriculture
at Farmingdale; and F. F. Rockwell,
Editor- in- Chief of Home Garden maga­zine.
A new chrysanthemum developed by
V. R. de Petris of Grosse Pointe Farms,
Mich., was then presented to Mary
MacArthur, daughter of Helen Hayes
and Charles MacArthur, by Dr. Scott
and was christened in her honor.
To close the afternoon's program, the
Garden served tea in the Members' Room
to members of the two co- operating
organizations.
On the Saturday and Sunday imme­diately
following, the indoor displays
were open to the public from 10 a. m.
till 5 p. m. and the outdoor exhibits until
dark. It is estimated that 18,000 persons
visited the Garden during the three- day
show.
'' The Gift of Green' 9— Garden s New Film
V f EMBERS of the New York Botani-
+* L c a ] Garden were invited to the first
official showing of the Garden's new
sound and color motion picture film, " The
Gift of Green," in the fourth floor
studio at the Museum of Modern Art
Oct. 18. Four successive showings were
given. Mrs. Antonie P. Voislawsky, a
member of the Advisory Council, rep­resented
the Board of Managers in wel­coming
the audience and introducing the
film. At the preview the day before, Dr.
E. E. Naylor, who is in large part re­sponsible
for the script, explained the
picture briefly to the assembled, press.
" The Gift of Green" tells the story
of photosynthesis— that is, how green
plants function in the presence of light
to manufacture, in their cells, sugars
which are converted into other substances
( even other sugars) and transported to
other parts of the plant.
Produced by Robert Flaherty, under
the immediate direction of his brother,
David Flaherty, the film contains scenes
made in California, Arizona, Florida, as
well as at the New York Botanical
Garden. The National Park Service and
the Fairchild Tropical Garden co- operated.
It includes pictures made through the
microscope, to show the detailed struc­ture
of a plant; lapse- time photographs
to show plants growing and flowers open­ing,
provided through the courtesy of
Allen K. White of Atlantic City ( who
showed his own films at the Garden in
Sept. 1945). Fossils photographed at
the American Museum of Natural His­tory
are included. Animated drawings
show the chemical reactions that take
place when sugar is made within a
green cell. Dr. William J. Robbins served
as technical adviser.
The Sugar Research Foundation, Inc.,
which has financed the making of this
film for the Garden, has acquired 100
copies, and is making it available with­out
cost to schools and other groups
throughout the country / through the
catalog of the Modern Talking Picture
Service. At the Garden, Dr. Naylor
has charge of the film's distribution.
Notes, News, and Comment
Advisory Council. Eight women who
have been active in the work of the
Garden's Manhattan office during the
past year were elected to the Advisory
Council by the Board of Managers Oc­tober
16. They are Mrs. James Cox
Brady, Mrs. Sidney G. De Kay, Mrs.
O'Donnell Iselin, and Mrs. Junius A.
Richards of New York City, Mrs.
Charles Burlingham of New York and
Ridgefield, Conn., Mrs. Reginald Fincke
of New York and Southampton, Long
Island, Mrs. Grafton H. Pyne of New
York and Bernardsville, N. J. and Mrs.
Philip B. Weld of Hastings- on- Hudson
N. Y.
280
Library. Mrs. Elsie Phelon Phillips,
who until recently worked as temporary
gardener at the New York Botanical
Garden and who received a certificate in
the Two- Year Science Course for Garden­ers
last June, has been added to the
library staff as assistant, commencing her
work there November 1.
Board of Managers. A. Percy Saunders,
retired professor of chemistry at Hamil­ton
College, Clinton, N. Y., widely
known as a breeder of peonies, resigned
from the Board of Managers October 16.
He was elected December 7, 1939, to
succeed Raymond H. Torrey.
Hybrid Grapes. Dr. A. B. Stout spent
a week in September at Geneva, N. Y.,
working with the Agricultural Experi­ment
Station there on the new seedless
grapes with which he has been con­cerned
for many years. He reports 309
new seedless grapes developed. One
which is now under test in commercial
plantings is being christened the " Inter­laken
Seedless." Vines will be made
available to growers as soon as possible
SEED COLLECTORS
We are Interested in purchasing
Tree— Shrub— Perennial Seeds
Correspondence invited
HERBST BROTHERS
92 Warren St. New York 7, N. Y.
through the New York State Co- opera­tive
Fruit Testing Association. A limited
number will be distributed next year.
Lectures. Meeting at the Garden Oct.
21, the Advisory Council heard a repeti­tion
of the talk given by Dr. H. W.
Rickett on Members' Day Oct. 2 for the
opening of the exhibit of original 19th
century paintings of flowers by Pancrace
Bessa.
Dr. W. H. Camp addressed the fall
conference of the Garden Club of New
Jersey at Asbury Park, Oct. 23 on plant
exploration. The ninth district of the
Federated Garden Clubs of New York
State, meeting at White Plains Oct. 28,
was addressed by Elizabeth H. Hall on
books for gardeners. The Women's
Guild and Garden Club of Old Greenwich,
Conn., heard Dr. Harold N. Moldenke
speak on plants of the Bible Oct. 17.
T. H. Everett was the speaker at the
Horticultural Society of New York Oct.
16. His lecture, which was on house
plants, was illustrated with kodachrames
and living material. Dr. F. J. Seaver
talked on fungi to the teachers of Julia
Richman High School in New York Oct.
23.
Field Trips. During late summer and
autumn Dr. H. N. Moldenke led numer­ous
field trips for the Torrey Botanical
Club and co- operating organizations.
Among them were visits to Chimney
Rock and Dock Watch Hollow in New
Jersey and Mounts Riga, Everett, and
Washington in the Berkshires of Con­necticut
and Massachusetts.
Visitors. Dr. Carl Epling of the Uni­versity
of California at Los Angeles,
who is spending his sabbatical leave in
the East, is working both at the New
York Botanical Garden and at Columbia
University.
Dr. Luigi Fenaroli, head of the Agri­cultural
Experiment Station at Milan,
Italy, spent the week of Oct. 7 at the
Garden, beginning a study of maize in
the United States. Mr. and Mrs. Brian
O. Mulligan from Loking, England, were
at the Garden Oct. 16 on their way to
Seattle where Mr. Mulligan, formerly at
the Royal Horticultural Society's Gardens
at Wisley, England, is to become super­intendent
of the arboretum of the Uni­versity
of Washington.
281
Stanley J. Smith of Cornell worked at
the Garden in early October on his Ph. D.
thesis on the genus Trillium.
Elisabeth Keiper, Garden Editor of the
Rochester ( New Y" ork) Times- Union
came to the Garden Oct. 19. She was
in New York to receive the medal for
horticultural activity presented by the
New York State Federation of Garden
Clubs at its annual meeting Oct. 21.
Among other visitors who have been
at the Garden in recent weeks were Scott
Haselton of Pasadena, editor of the
Cactus and Succulent Journal; John
F. Cornman of Cornell University, work­ing
on the genus Juniperus; Dr. Walker
Ardes, Jr., an amateur mycologist of
Philadelphia; Frank E. Egler of Nor­folk,
Conn.: Cynthia Westcott of Glen
Ridge, 1 N. J.; and Milton Hopkins of
Roslyn, Long Island.
FM Broadcasts. Since the city's radio
station, WNYC, began broadcasting all
the proceedings of the United Nations
conference, the New York Botanical
Garden's bi- weekly program, scheduled
for alternate Wednesdays at 5: 45 p. m.,
has several times been delayed because
of the long sessions of the conference.
The program is now being transferred to
the FM cycle of WNYC whenever the
United Nations' conference is still on the
air when the Garden's program is due.
Graduate Student. Monroe R. Birdsey
of Middletown, Conn., is registered for
work at the Garden in morphology and
taxonomy under Dr. W. H. Camp," as a
graduate student at Columbia University.
Another Agave. The summer of 1946
was the summer of century- plants. On
Sept. 6 the third specimen in the New
York Botanical Garden's Conservatory
came into bloom for the first time. The
two previous specimens of Agave, A.
neglecta and A. ntpicola ( recorded in the
Journal for August), had hardly died
down when the flower- stalk began to ap­pear
on the third, Agave filifera, a plant
which had been received from the New
York City Department in 1902. A rela­tively
small plant, with a globular rosette
of sharply pointed leaves from which
tough thread- like fibers uncurled at the
edges, it produced a flower- stalk which
grew with great rapidity to a height of
nearly ten feet. When measured Aug.
20 it stood six feet above the base of'
the plant. Ten days later it was nine feet
high, and a week later it began to bloom.
Flowering proceeded upward on the stalk,
a few rows opening each day. It was
estimated that the stalk bore 1,500 in­dividual
flowers— inconspicuous in the
mass, but each' one attractive in itself,
with petals of a lavender- rose color,
and stamens, before they opened to expel
their yellow pollen, of a slightly darker
hue.
Meetings. Going to Philadelphia Oc­tober
17, D r. William J. Robbins at­tended
the three- day meeting of the
American Philosophical Society. Dr. B.
O. Dodge followed him there for the
gathering of the National Academy of
Sciences October 20 to 23. On Sept.
27 to 30 Dr. Robbins also attended a
growth conference at Princeton Uni­versity.
NOTICES AND REVIEWS OF RECENT BOOKS
A Starter in Pelargonium Study
GERANIUMS. Pelargoniums for
Windows and Gardens. Helen
Van Pelt Wilson. 248 pages, in­dexed,
illustrated with watercolors
and line drawings by Natalie Harlan
Davis, also with photographs. M.
Barrows & Co., New York, 1946.
( 2.75.
Miss Wilson writes well. Her books
are a pleasure to read, not just because
they give good descriptions of charming
gardens, with knowledge of the needs
of plants, but because there is a style
about them in the telling. One enjoys
the stories of the different flowers, their
growth, their situations, their color, their
fragrance.
In- this new book, I am not conscious
of this ease. Here one does not slip hap­pily
through the story of the geraniums,
282
as we so firmly call them. The reason
is evident. It is a tough story. Anyone
planning it must often ieel like a person
trying to accomplish Ajax's task. The
vast weight of the rock impedes.
l t is easy to see why this is so. It is
because of the pelargoniums' amiability.
Where they grow protusely in their home
in South Africa and where they tumble
over every wall and rock on the Island
of Saint Helena, they hybridize easily.
This carries on when they are transplanted
to northern abodes. They have been
loved so long that their number is end­less,
and many, many of them have been
given different names. And who can
see them all and name them all correctly?
In writing this for a Botanical Garden
Journal, one cannot quite dismiss the sub­ject
with a blessing. One must mention
that the story is not complete. Even
among this Botanical Garden's 260 pelar­gonium
plants, there are many not in­cluded,
not just among the species, which
would be natural, but among the named
horticultural varieties.
With it all, Miss Wilson has done a
rewarding job. She knows it is a
" starter" and urges further study. She
has gone conscientiously to collections in
the East and in the West and studied the
ones she has seen. She gives many de­lightful
suggestions of color combinations
and numberless situations for sun and
partial shade. She has an extremely good
chapter on the growth of the plants in
an amateur greenhouse. Outdoors under
varying conditions, her hints for their
culture are good. The colors are given
according to the Horticultural Colour
Chart of the Royal Horticultural So­ciety,
which is planned in accordance
with Ridgway, the Repertoire de Couleurs,
and Ostwald.
There are charming little color sketches
and leaf shapes and a portfolio showing
how the plants may be used. Many
people will read her book with pleasure,
identify their own plants, and forget
that it is not and could not, according
to present knowledge, be complete.
SARAH V. COOMBS.
History and Horticulture
In a Gardening Town
OLD SALEM GARDENS. 71 pages,
illustrated, indexed. Published by
t h e Salem Garden Club, Salem,
Mass. May, 1946. ( 1.10.
Here is a small booklet full of his­torical
lore of early Salem gardens,
their design and plant material. From
the complete description of each garden,
and of old Salem itself, one can mentally
recreate a life in which much leisure was
spent in the fine art of gardening by gen­erations
of owners of these beautiful old
mansions in days and ways long since
" gone with the wind."
The little booklet also contains much
horticultural information, simply told, of
plants which thrive in the vicinity, and
should be an inspiration for all lovers
of old gardens. For Americana fanciers
it is full of nostalgia and charmingly
illustrated with pencil drawings of plants
and flowers.
This book is obtainable from Mrs.
Henry R. Johnson, 376 Lafayette St.,
Salem, Mass.
MRS. GUTHRIE SHAW.
Plants of Hawaii National Park
Illustrative of
Plants and Customs of the South Seas
By Otto Degener
( Author, Flora Hawaiicnsis)
Devoted primarily to Hawaii, this book
draws attention to the South Sea Islands as
. i whole, their origin and flora, and the cus­toms
of their kindly natives. Profusely illus­trated.
$ 2.50, from author, New York
Botanical Garden, Bronx Park, N. Y. 58.
Rice Economy of the World
RICE IN THE WESTERN HEMI­SPHERE:
Wartime Developments
and Postwar Problems. V. D. Wick-izer.
48 pages. War- Peace Pam­phlets
No. 7, Food Research In­s
t i t u t e , Stanford University, Cali­fornia.
June 1945. 50 cents.
Rice, the staple grain of China and
South Pacific Asia, and one of the five
original grains planted by that first mythi­cal
Chinese Emperor, Shen- nung, as­sumed
great importance during the recent
world war. In fact, its role had so
magnified that it occupied the serious
283
attention of many governments and rulers,
and has become the subject of much
research and published discussion.
Of considerable interest in this con­nection
is the pamphlet, " Rice in the
Western Hemisphere" by V. D. Wickizer,
published by the Food Research Institute
of Stanford University. It has no deal­ings
with the rice plant or with its culti­vation;
' instead, it confines its discus­sions
strictly to the rice economy of the
world, especially of the Americas in
relation to the war and to the problems,
of postwar adjustment.
The war was'not over when this pam­phlet
was published, hence the discussion
of postwar problems, western hemisphere
trade prospects, the outlook for non-
Asiatic production, and the timing of re­adjustments
is more from the standpoint
of what should be done than from a view
of what had been done.
On the other hand, there is a satisfying
amount of factual information and statis­tics
employed in the study of actual war­time
rice production and its flow from
new sources. They serve also to clarify
and explain the necessary adjustments
demanded by stringent wartime economy
in a country such as India as well as in
- non- Asiatic countries which in years- past
have been so dependent on the big three
of rice production— Burma, Thailand and
Indochina.
One comprehends the predicament of
India which, while free of the actual
devastation of physical warfare, is one
of those countries desperately hit by the
war and in need of contributions from
surplus stocks built up in other parts of
the world. Five per cent of its own needs
of rice must be supplied from the outside.
When this was cut off, the loss was
sufficient to cause a famine.
It is equally interesting to note to what
degree since 1938 Latin- America, par­ticularly
Brazil, Mexico and Ecuador,
have been exporters of rice, and how
since 1940 the six importing countries
have been reduced to only one ( Peru),
and Chile since 1941 has become a con­sistent
exporter.
The fact that the United States_ is the
largest surplus- producing area in _ the
western hemisphere may be surprising
to many, but its significance dwindles
when compared to the vast amounts. oi
rice normally available from Monsoon
Ash. and falls far short when it- is
considered that the recent ( 1944) crop
of 70 million bushels ( 900,000 metric
tons, cleaned basis) was only about three-fourths
of the average crop produced on
the Island of Formosa between 1935- 36
and 1939- 40, and that Formosa is rated as
the smallest surplus- producing area in
southeastern Asia.
WILLARD M. PORTERFIELD, JR.
Conservation Primer
THE LAND RENEWED. William R.
Van Dersal & Edward H. Graham.
109 pages, illustrated. Oxford Uni­versity
Press, New York, 1946. $ 2.
" Top soil, the source of all our food,
is on its way to the sea."
That is the ending of the chapter on
Floods in " The Land Renewed," writ­ten
by two of the best soil experts in
this country. In simple language this
book covers a very complicated subject
with illustrations that are actual photo­graphs
admirably depicting the various
practices now used by the intelligent
farmer who is not only protecting his
soil from that insidious thief, erosion,
but actually making new soil and in­creasing
his income at the same time. I
Bobbink & Atkins
i
N U R S E R Y M E N
AND
p L'A N T S M E N
Most of the unusual Roses, Trees and
Shrubs not obtainable elsewhere will
be found growing in this great
Establishment . . . one unique in the
Annals of American Horticulture.
Visitors Always Welcome
Catalogue Upon Request
Bobbink & Atkins
Paterson Ave., E. Rutherford, N. J.
284
like particularly the chapter on Field
Borders because while protecting crops in
the field, the planting of Lcspcdeza bi-color
is beautiful in bloom in midsummer
with deep lavender flowers. It also im­proves
the soil and feeds quail and other
nativc birds, and is equally valuable as a
wind screen in the garden, growing like
a four- foot hedge.
In the chapter on Democracy in Ac­tion,
the method of establishing soil con­servation
farm districts is explained. The
last two paragraphs give all Americans
courage because the city people depend
on the soil for food and wood as much
as the country dwellers.
" This great movement to improve
American land has been under way for
less than ten years, but already it in­volves
more than half the agricultural
land of the United States. In another
ten years possibly all farm and ranch
land will be in districts, and all the
people will be started on the important
job of soil conservation." These are the
encouraging words of the author, and
the very last sentence of this remarkable
little easy- to- read conservation primer
says, " Freedom, like the soil, is most
appreciated where it is endangered."
JANE B. FRANCKE.
Brookvilie, Long Island.
Flower Arrangement and Therapy
PLEASURES AND PROBLEMS IN
FLOWER ARRANGEMENT. Emma
Hodkinson Cyphers. 100 pages, illus­trated,
indexed. Second edition,
1944. $ 2.
This little booklet, subtitled " A ref­erence
work for flower arrangers," was
presented to the library by Mrs. Clayton
P. Stevens in appreciation of the
courtesies which she and her club received
at the time of the Garden's Fiftieth An­niversary.
Proceeds from the sale of
this booklet, which is obtainable at 114
Prospect St., Passaic, N. J., go to further
the' work in garden therapy carried on
by the Garden Department of the Monday
Afternoon Club.
" Stimulating, informative,
and well worth reading,"
— The Journal of the
N. Y. Botanical Garden.
PLANT LIFE of the
PACIFIC WORLD
by Elmer D. Merrill
Director of the Arnold Arboretum.
This remarkable book, prepared by the leading authority on the flora
of the Pacific region, is the first to cover in one volume the extraor­dinarily
rich plant life found on the Pacific islands. Necessarily,
descriptions must be brief, but a clear, over- all picture of the luxuriant
vegetation is presented.
295 pages 256 drawings Price 83.50
The Macmillan Company, 60 Fifth Avenue, New York 11
THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN
Officers
JOSEPH R. SWAN, President
HENRY DE FOREST BALDWIN, Vice- president
JOHN L. MERRILL, Vice- president
ARTHUR M. ANDERSON, Treasurer
HENRY DE LA MONTAGNE, Secretary
Elective Managers
WILLIAM FELTON BARRETT CHARLES B. HARDING H. HOBART PORTER
HOWARD BAYNE MRS. ELON HUNTINGTON FRANCIS E. POWELL, JR.
EDWIN DE T. BECHTEL HOOKER MRS. HAROLD I. PRATT
HENRY F. DU PONT MRS. ALBERT D. LASKER WILLIAM J. ROBBINS
MARSHALL FIELD CLARENCE MCK. LEWIS EDMUND W. SINNOTT
REV. ROBERT I. GANNON, E. D. MERRILL CHAUNCEY STILLMAN
S. J. ROBERT H. MONTGOMERY SIDNEY J. WEINBERG
Ex- Officio Managers
WILLIAM O'DWYER, Mayor of the City of New York
ANDREW G. CLAUSON, JR., President of the Board of Education
ROBERT MOSES, Park Commissioner
Appointive Managers
By the Torrey Botanical Club
H. A. GLEASON
By Columbia University
MARSTON T. BOGERT MARCUS M. RHOADES
CHARLES W. BALLARD SAM F. TRELEASE
THE STAFF
WILLIAM J. ROBBINS, P H . D . , SC. D. Director
H. A. GLEASON, P H . D . Assistant Director and Curator
HENRY DE LA MONTAGNE Assistant Director
FRED J. SEAVER, PH. D., SC. D. Head Curator
A. B. STOUT, P H . D . Curator of Education and Laboratories
BERNARD O. DODGE, P H . D . Plant Pathologist
H. W. RICKETT, P H . D . Bibliographer
THOMAS H. EVERETT, N. D. HORT. Horticulturist
BASSETT MAGUIRE, P H . D . Curator
HAROLD N. MOLDENKE, P H . D . Associate Curator
W. H. CAMP, P H . D . Associate Curator
E. J. ALEXANDER, B. S. Assistant Curator and Curator of the Local Herbarium
E. E. NAYLOR, P H . D . Assistant Curator
F. W. KAVANAGH, P H . D . Assistant Curator
ROBERT S. D E ROPP, P R D , D. I. C. Assistant Curator
MARJORIE ANCHEL, P H . D . Research Associate
SELMA KOJAN, B. S. Technical Assistant
ROSALIE WEIKERT Technical Assistant
ILDA MCVEIGH, P H . D . Technical Assistant
MARY STEBBINS. M. A. Technical Assistant
ELIZABETH C. HALL, A. B.. B. S. Librarian
CAROL H, WOODWARD, A. B. Editor of the Journal
G. L. WITTROCK, A. M. Custodian of the Herbarium
OTTO DEGENER, M. S. Collaborator in Hawaiian Botany
ELMER N. MITCHELL Photoqrapher
JOHN HENDLEY BARNHART, A. M., M. D. Bibliographer Emeritus
A. J. GROUT, P H . D . Honorary Curator of Mosses
INEZ M. HARING Assistant Honorary Curator of Mosses
JOSEPH F. BURKE Honorary Curator of the Diatomaceae
B. A. KRUKOFF Honorary Curator of Economic Botany
ETHEL ANSON S. PECKHAM Honorary Curator, Iris and Narcissus Collections
A. C. PFANDER Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds
To reach the Botanical Garden, take tlie Independent Subway to Bedford Park
Boulevard station: use tlie Bedford Park Boulevard exit and walk east. Or take the
Third Avenue Elevated to the Botanical Garden or the 200th Street station, the New-
York Central to the Botanical Garden station, or the Welister Avenue surface car to
Bedford Park Boulevard.
PUBLICATIONS OF THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN
Books, Booklets, and Special Numbers of the Journal
An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, by Nathaniel
Lord Britton and Addison Brown. Three volumes, giving descriptions and illustra'
tions of 4,666 species. Second edition, reprinted. $ 13.50.
Flora of the Prairies and Plains of Central North America, by P. A. Rydberg.
969 pages and 601 figures. 1932. Price, $ 5.50 postpaid.
The Bahama Flora, by Nathaniel Lord Britton and Charles Frederick Millspaugh.
695 pages. Descriptions of the spermatophytes, pteridophytes, bryophytes, and
thallopbytes of the Bahamas, with keys, notes on explorations and collections,
bibliography, and index. 1920. $ 6.25.
North American Cariceae, by Kenneth K. Mackenzie, containing 539 plates
of Carex and related plants by Harry C. Creutzburg, with a description of each
species. Indexed. 1940. Two volumes, 10% x 13'/ 2 inches; bound $ 17.50; un­bound
$ 15.50.
Keys to the North American Species of Carex by K. K. Mackenzie. From
Vol. 19, Part 1, of North American Flora. $ 1.25.
Food and Drug Plants of the North American Indian. Two illustrated articles
by Marion A. 6? G. L. Wittrock in the Journal for March 1942. 15 cents.
Vegetables and Fruits for the Home Garden. Four authoritative articles reprinted
from the Journal, 21 pages, illustrated. Edited by Carol H. Woodward. 1941. 15 cents-
The Flora of the Unicorn Tapestries by E. J. Alexander and Carol H. Wood­ward.
28 pages, illustrated with photographs and drawings; bound with paper. 1941.
25 cents.
Catalog of Hardy Trees and Shrubs. A list of the woody plants being grown
outdoors at the New York Botanical Garden in 1942, in 127 pages with notes, a
map, and 20 illustrations. 75 cents.
Succulent Plants of New and Old World Deserts by E. J. Alexander. 64 pages,
indexed. 350 species treated, 100 illustrated. Bound in paper. 1942. Second
edition 1944. 50 cents.
Periodicals
Addisonia, annually, devoted exclusively to colored plates accompanied by
popular descriptions of flowering plants: eight plates in each number, thirty- two in
each volume. Now in its twenty- second volume. Subscription price, $ 10 a volume
( four years). Not offered in exchange. Free to members of the Garden.
Journal of The New York Botanical Garden, monthly, containing news, book
reviews, and non- technical articles on botany and horticulture. Subscription, $ 1.50 a
year; single copies 15 cents. Free to members of the Garden. Now in its 47th volume.
Mycologia, bimonthly, illustrated in color and otherwise; devoted to fungi,
including lichens, containing technical articles and news and notes of general in'
terest. $ 7 a year; single copies $ 1.50 each. Now in its thirty- eighth volume.
Twenty- four Year Index volume $ 3.
Brittonia. A series of botanical papers published in co- operation with the
American Society of Plant Taxonomists. Subscription price of volumes 1 through
5, $ 5 a volume ($ 4 to members of the Society). Now in its sixth volume. Price,
$ 7.50 ($ 5 to members of the Society).
North American Flora. Descriptions of the wild plants of North America,
including Greenland, the West Indies, and Central America. 94 parts now issued.
Not offered in exchange. Prices of the separate parts on request.
Contributions from The New York Botanical Garden. A series of technical
papers reprinted from journals other than the above. 25 cents each, $ 5 a volume.
Memoirs of The New York Botanical Garden. A collection of scientific
papers. Contents and prices on request.